Eating Well for Optimal Health

Good Nutrition as part of a Healthy Lifestyle

It’s a sad fact that about one-third (1/3) of American adults are overweight; due mainly to sugar and fructose intake. But wait, people can change that by adopting a lifestyle with the right diet. It’s important to know how fat is deposited in the body so that you understand how to make the body lose it. Your body needs food to obtain the necessary energy to function and feed its cells.

The calories in food have energy, commonly referred to as calories. The more calories food contains, the more fuel the body can obtain from it. Good Nutrition as part of a Healthy Lifestyle

To use the energy from the food, your body has to digest the food first. The process of digestion causes the body to burn some old energy to get new energy from the food. More energy/calories are burned if it’s more difficult to digest the food.

The body’s fuel is categorized as protein, carbohydrates, or fats. This fuel nourishes the body and keeps the body functioning. The leftover calories are eventually stored in the fat cells. Your body uses a part of the food’s fuel for nutrition. The excess fuel is eventually stored up as fat in the “fat cells” of your body, around the kidneys and liver.

Lose WeightFat cells are often deposited in the chest, hips, and waist region. As the cells become bigger, your physique acquires a doughy look. The body has a limited number of fat cells, and there is only so much fat these cells can store. Once the threshold is reached, fat begins to accumulate in the muscle lining of your arms and thighs, creating unsightly, flabby limbs.

EAT FAT-BURNING FOODS All foods can create fat, but certain foods can help burn fat. Some foods have minerals or vitamins that raise metabolism and act as virtual fat burners. There are negative-calorie foods with low calories that burn extra calories during digestion. Other foods, even if you eat them in small quantities, give you a feeling of fullness.

They contain very few calories. You will significantly reduce the fat profile of your body if you consume the right whole foods. By eating these fat-burning foods at the right time, in the correct amount, the body fat profile starts to reduce. Add in foods that lower the likelihood of fat depositing in your body for an extra boost.

Here is a list of everyday foods that double as secret fat burners.

Poultry Salmon, Tuna, Citrus Fruits, Apples, Berries, Oatmeal, Vegetables, Beans, Eggs, Almonds & Walnuts, Pine Nuts

ADD FAT BOOSTERS TO YOUR DIET

Mustard, Onions, Coconut Oil, Hot Peppers, Green Tea

INCREASE WATER INTAKEINCREASE WATER INTAKE

Help your body to reduce fat deposits by drinking more water. The kidneys do not function correctly without enough water intake. If they don’t work properly, some of the load is discarded into the liver. If the liver is doing the kidney’s work, it can’t concentrate on its’ main job of metabolizing fat. More fat will remain in the body and fat burning stops. So drinking the right amount of water improves metabolism and keeps your fat burning at full capacity. Water also flushes out toxins and improves the body’s ability to stay healthy.

BUILD MUSCLES

Keep your metabolism active and help burn calories. Adding muscle improves your body’s fat composition ratio. Because muscles are active tissue that continually renews itself, it always needs calories. While normal cardio burns fat only during exercise, weight training builds muscle to ensure that body fat continues to burn throughout the day.  Healthy Lifestyle 3

The main source of energy for muscles is fat. So, even when relaxing or sleeping, you continue to burn calories. The more muscle mass on your frame the more positive effect on your metabolism. It’s important to do weight-resistant exercises to build muscle and to avoid your metabolism from getting sluggish and packing on fat.

To have a healthy diet, it is necessary to follow a healthy eating plan. As it is crucial to know what the right food is, it is even more crucial to know what food not to eat. An appropriately designed healthy eating plan will serve you with all the essential nutrients required and makes your body used to the diet having a goal of calorie intake, which prevents overweighting. Most healthy eating plans have the following ingredients: Fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, herbs, and nuts. All such food items will give you the required nutrients your body demands.

Sometimes many herbs and supplements are added to a normal diet which can give many benefits. When choosing a supplement, it is advisable to be vigilant. Having too many, of the wrong or bad quality supplements can do more harm than good.

Good Nutrition as part of a Healthy LifestyleFollowing a healthy eating plan and detoxifying will make a difference in your health. When it comes to any diet or detox plan, there is no formula where “one-size-fits-all. Your body will let you know of the first signs of change for the better. Follow your instinct, and you are on the way to better health.

Now you have the secrets to a beautifully toned body in the palm of your hands. The only thing standing in the way of a lean sexy physique is you. Adopt these fat-burning secrets into your lifestyle and you will see results in a matter of weeks. The right diet plan will show you how to combine fat-burning foods to keep your body from melting away the flab.

There are countless delicious recipes to make the switch painless. Add a weight-lifting exercise regime and you will sculpt your body into an object of desire. And last; fasting is a great option to regaining your health.

The New You is ready to Emerge!

 

Unlocking the Power of Bee Pollen for Optimal Health

Bee Pollen Benefits

Nearly everybody knows about honey, however, not everybody knows about bee pollen benefits. Do you know the advantages of bee pollen?

* Potent Antioxidants * Prevents Allergies * Heals Prostate problems * Boosts Men’s love life * Makes Exercise Easy

Let all-natural bee pollen benefits improve your health. Make bee pollen a protein-rich accessory for your family’s healing tools.

Do you know the Health Advantages of Bee Pollen?

Who could know the health advantages of bee pollen much better than a bee? When bees help themselves to nectar to allow them to make honey, they coat their legs with pollen.

This bee pollen is collected for your colony’s principal protein food once they go back to the hive.

Bee Pollen 2Probably the most important bee pollen fact is it is full of antioxidants.

The antioxidants in bee pollen are compounds chemists call flavonoids. Bee pollen packs the punch of myricetin, quercetin, rutin, and trans-cinnamic acid. You don’t have to remember their names, but check out the things they can perform for you.

Myricetin helps white blood cells absorb the “bad” LDL cholesterol from the bloodstream. Quercetin is a natural antihistamine-the appropriate pollen could be good for your allergies! Rutin is better referred to as a treatment for varicose veins. Rutin protects veins throughout the entire body and could assist in preventing cancer too. The body uses trans-cinnamic acid to create its very own antibiotics, which are the potent nutrient that also powers the detoxifying processes of the liver.

Another key bee pollen fact is it is a supply of complete nutrition. Bee pollen is richer in protein than any flesh-based food. Gram for gram, bee pollen supplements contains more proteins than fish, beef, or eggs.

 

Bee Pollen Benefits for LifeWhat else is within bee pollen?

This supplement contains:

* Enzymes

* Coenzymes

* 18 proteins

* DNA and RNA

* Vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, B12, C, D, E, and K

* Vitamin b folic acid

* Niacin

* Pantothenic acid

* Choline

* Inositol

* Iron

* Zinc

Probably the most interesting bee pollen facts would be that the whole from the pollen is more than its nutritional parts. Insect scientists conducted an experiment where they took away bee pollen and replaced it having a synthetic mix. This “bee chow” contained every known nutrient within its food.

First, the bees neglected to thrive. Chances are they neglected to survive. Nothing artificial can replacement for natural bee pollen.

Bees then add “unknown extra” of their very own to bee pollen. This might be the main reason bee pollen is beneficial in treating several human health problems.Bee Pollen

Sneeze no longer!

Bee pollen products treat allergies. Doctors have prescribed pollen for more than one hundred years. Bee pollen injections desensitize pollen sufferers. Allergists use “allergy shots” to avoid hay fever, hives, rashes, and asthma.

Doctors developed this process at St. Mary’s Hospital in London in about 1903. Within the original method, the nurse gives an injection of pollen and water once per week for several months. The very first injection might be 1 part pollen in 100,000 areas of water. The final injection might be 1 part pollen in 10 areas of water.

These potentially painful shots teach the defense mechanisms not to answer pollen. They decrease the immune system’s power. They ensure that it stays from becoming “hypersensitive” to harmless plants.

However, when bee pollen is taken being a supplement instead of an injection, the allergies still disappear. The main difference is the defense mechanisms are stronger, not weaker.

Dr. Lee Conway of Denver, Colorado here in the United States treats his allergy patients with bee pollen. All his patients taking bee pollen each day remain free of all allergic reactions. They don’t get new allergies once they go on to new places. They stay allergy-free.

Bee Pollen Benefits 66“Half the discomfort, Twice the Pleasure.”

That’s the way a German publication for physicians described bee pollen benefits for guys with prostate problems. Over 20 scientific research have discovered that bee pollen supports men’s sexual health.

How? Chronic prostate problems are caused by the accumulation of toxins of oxygen within the seminal fluid. Toxins of oxygen result in a “burn” at the cellular level. Bee pollen puts the fire on.

Bee Pollen Benefits for allThe advantage of sexual activity without burning, dribbling, or swollen sensation is obvious. But how about bee pollen and male fertility?

By far the most comprehensive research in this region originates from China. Researchers first discovered that chronic prostate inflammation and male infertility both are caused by the accumulation of toxins of oxygen.

 

Then they set about finding which product stops the creation of toxins.

Their answer? Bee pollen. The top relief for infectious prostate inflammation was a mix of conventional medication and bee pollen. Bee pollen all on its own was eighty percent as good as antibiotics. Bee pollen was free from negative effects. It was expensive less.

The true secret bee pollen benefit ended up being to increase fertility. Sperm swam faster and lasted longer. These were more motile and viable.

How did bee pollen achieve this? The correct answer is zinc. Bee pollen offers a unique mixture of zinc and antioxidants. It maximizes the strength of this mineral for men’s sexual health.

Bee Pollen Benefits 72Bee Pollen is perfect for Women Too

Two decades ago American researchers found that bee pollen might treat women’s cancers. Their government sponsors quickly covered up their findings. Doctors in Austria learned about them anyway.

Dr. Peter Hernuss and his awesome team layout to assist twenty-five women struggling with inoperable uterine cancer. They couldn’t take away cancer, therefore the doctors gave the ladies chemotherapy. Half the ladies also received bee pollen. Even underneath the worst possible health conditions, bee pollen benefits were clear.

The fortunate ladies who took bee pollen using their food quickly acquired a defense mechanism boost. Their labs showed:

* Increased antibody production

* More red blood cells

* More hemoglobin

* Along with a higher power of cancer-fighting natural killer (NK) cells.

Taking bee pollen with food lessened terrible nausea that goes together with chemotherapy. To put it simply, the whole nutrition in bee pollen prevented starvation. Bee pollen prevented losing muscles.

Bee pollen benefits even included keeping hair thinning as low as possible. Without bee pollen, there was no comparable benefit.

Bee Pollen Benefits 2How Can You Use Bee Pollen?

Take two bee pollen tablets a couple of times daily with meals, or as recommended by your doctor. Scientists have discovered that bee pollen retains its antioxidant potency for approximately 3 years during storage under household conditions.

Caution: Bee pollen’s negative effects are extremely rare; however, they are possible in sensitive individuals. We have seen one case where an individual who had severe reactions to mold experienced a severe response to bee pollen the product has been improperly kept in heat and damp. It contained mold.

Bee Pollen BenefitsBee pollen will not be appropriate for ladies who are or who can become pregnant. Discontinue and talk to your doctor in the event you experience negative effects. Bee pollen reactions are uncommon in comprehensive supplements in which bee pollen is simply one part.

 

The Majestic Appalachian Trail

Appalachian Trail

Appalachian Trail

If you have an adventurous heart, then hiking the Appalachian Trail is likely on your bucket list of things to do at some point in your life. As with everything that requires a great amount of physical exertion, this kind of experience will be made easier and more enjoyable with the right kind of preparation.

 

 

The following is a list of suggestions that will help you be as prepared as possible for this life-changing adventure when hiking the Appalachian Trail:

Learn to Pack for the Trail

Packing for biking the Appalachian Trail (AT) will be a lot different than packing for other outdoor activities. You will need to find out what your tour guides suggest. Your packing list will depend on the length of the trip, your abilities, and the time of year you decide to take this trip. Follow these suggestions closely as they will help you many times along the way.

Research the Map of the Trip

Each area of the country comes with some unique views and exciting pieces of culture, but also with some new hazards and potential dangers. Take some time to research the areas you will be riding through so that you can have a good idea of what kind of challenges you might be facing. This research will help you know what to look out for along the ride and can give you the chance to properly stock up and prepare against these dangers.

Get Your Equipment Serviced

Even if you had your tires pumped and your gears oiled recently, it will be a very good idea for you to have all of your biking and camping equipment looked over to make sure everything is in good condition. You do not want to get out on the trail and have a chain break or a brake stop working when the issue could have been spotted and resolved before the trip even began.

Shop for Appropriate Clothing

Appalachian Trail Clothes

The right attire for this kind of trip can be a little hard to shop for. You need clothing that is tight so that you don’t end up with too much wind resistance. You also want clothing that is loose enough to be comfortable to move in. The material should be heavy enough to keep you warm as you travel at high speeds, but light enough to keep you from getting overheated. All of these paradoxical requirements can be hard to meet.

The best way to handle this is to head to a store that handles high-adventure outings like the one you are embarking on. They can help you find the best clothing to help you handle this trip with grace and comfort.

Purchase Lightweight Nutrition

Most of these adventures come with meals, but that will not keep you from getting hungry and possibly weak on the road. It takes a lot of exertion to endure this kind of adventure, so if you are worried about needing an extra boost here and there on the road, then be sure to pack some lightweight nutrition options. There are some great protein gels and power drinks that will give you the healthy boost you are looking for without weighing you down too much.

Review Survival Skills

Some good preparation to consider is brushing up on your survival skills like CPR, rescue breathing, and other first-aid skills.

All of these things will help your trip biking the Appalachian Trail be calmer and more exciting. A little bit of preparation can go a long way when it comes to this kind of adventure. Your efforts to prepare well will be met with a successful trip full of amazing views, good friendships, and incredible memories.

Appalachian Trail 2If you are someone who loves the outdoors, then you need to be sure that you put biking the Appalachian trail on your bucket list. This is an amazing experience that can enhance your life in some really beautiful ways. Those who make this kind of trip enjoy many benefits including, but not limited to the following:

  • Beautiful landscapes: When you bike the Appalachian trail, you will be riding through some of the most beautiful landscapes on Earth. This is a very unique area, geologically speaking. The rolling hills that are so close to the East coast create a strange and lovely mixture of vegetation and formations.
  • New skills: Even if you are an avid biker, this kind of tour can help you to gain some new skills. The terrain that is covered can create some different pedal methods and breathing techniques. You will come away learning new things about the area as well.
  • New friends: It is really hard to go on adventures of this nature with a group without really bonding with those people. It takes a certain kind of person to invest in this kind of experience. If this is something that you love, then you know that a lot of the other people you meet on this adventure will have similar backgrounds and mindsets. You could come away with some life-long friends thanks to investing in this one experience.
  • Deeper relationships: If you decide to experience this trip with someone you love, then get ready to care about them in a deeper way than ever before. You will be able to see a new side of this person, and this can create some incredibly deep bonds.Appalachian Trail Clothing
  • Amazing memories: It is doubtful that you will ever see things like this ever again in your life. The sheer uniqueness of the experience will make it something to remember. Memories are one of the few things you can take with you after this life is over, so investing in experiences that will create such lasting memories is a wonderful thing.
  • Familiarity with a new area: As you bike through the different towns, lakes, and forests, you will be learning new things about the area. This section of the country has a fascinating history, and there is a lot to learn about the culture, plants, animals, and people. This new familiarity can be a cool thing and will add to your love for the diversity that makes this country such a wonderful place to live.
  • Physical fitness: When you spend your vacations doing physical activities of this nature, then you are investing in a healthy body and mind. Physical fitness is a hard-won quality for most people, and this kind of vacation can help
  • you with this.

Appalachian Trail 10Peace of mind: “There is healing power in nature”. Spending a great deal of time hiking or biking through the beauty of nature can help you to reflect on important things. You can find inner healing and personal peace of mind on a deeper level than ever before. If you have a job that brings a lot of stress to your life, then you need a good chance to get away from the tension and fast pace of that life for a little bit and gain some inner peace.

The next time you are ready to get outside and feel at one with nature, you need to sign up to bike the Appalachian Trail. This is an experience like no other. There is a reason a wait list often forms for most of these tours. Get some good time to bond with a loved one, and a good chance for self-reflection in one of the most beautiful environments on the planet.

blue-ridge-Appalachian-TrailWhat goes through 14 states, (approximately) 2,184 miles, and almost every climate and ecosystem America has to offer? The jaw-dropping Appalachian National Scenic Trail – known as the Appalachian Trail, or just the AT. It’s taken partway or ends to end by over 3,000,000 hikers each year, and along with the Continental Divide Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail, it’s one-third of the Triple Crown of US long-distance hiking.

Where – and Which Way?

Appalachian Trail 7The trail runs from south to north, from Georgia up to Maine. If you’re on a roll, you can even continue into Canada to the Atlantic, a jaunt known as the International Appalachian Trail.

You can reverse the order too, going from Maine to Georgia. This has an impact on the weather and conditions you can expect: heat is more extreme in the south, and cold in the north. If you’re starting in the winter or spring, go from Georgia north. But later in the year or autumn, starting in Maine while it’s warm will get you to Georgia as it cools.

Not a Walk in the Park…

Aside from the physical challenge of walking a dozen or more miles a day for several months – and they are considerable – the main issue you’ll face will be the equipment you’ll need to carry with you at all times. This can run to over twenty pounds. As with any trip to the USA, travel insurance is a must, doubly so when you rely so heavily on what you carry. Prepare physically with cardio and strength training, but, if possible, take on some smaller local trails to test yourself and your gear.

Take in the Sights, and Beware of the Bears

The camaraderie of those you’ll meet on the road is a highlight for many people… but not all of them are human. The trail is home to deer, snakes, raccoons, countless birds, and too large numbers of black bears, which are usually shy and avoid humans – but they will inspect your campsite at night. Keep food in a bear canister and hang it from a tree.

smoky-mountains-Appalachian TrailSome more things you shouldn’t miss: – The highest point is Clingman’s Dome, in Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains, up to 6,625ft. The views can be incredible up here. – It’s possible if you plan carefully to do the whole AT without a tent. The whole length is catered for by over 250 huts – but they vary from 8 to 30 miles apart. More than adequate if you need them. – For a full list of what not to miss, see here: https://appalachiantrail.com/at-attractions/famous/. –

Another guide worth following is Bill Bryson’s hilarious, heartwarming A Walk in the Woods – worth a pound weight in your bag, even more so as an eBook.

Preparing for the Trail – What You Need:

The big four”: – Good quality backpackSleeping bag or quiltShelter (hammock, tent or bivouac) – Sleeping pad

More must-haves: – Lightweight shoes or bootsWaterproof clothesGood USA travel insurance that covers what you need.

Nice to haves: – A light foldaway camping stoolA French press coffee maker – for a little help warming you up in the morning.

 

The Dreaded Headache: Causes and Cures

Headaches

headaches-are-painfulHeadaches started in the fall of my college freshman year, I was among the original occupants of a new dormitory. Everything was pristine including furnishings, fixtures, and recreation room equipment. Within a half hour of settling into my room and wandering to the rec room, an angular, blond, crew-cut fellow from St. Joseph, Michigan named Mike introduced himself. It turned out his room was two doors from mine. Both of us were registered in engineering school, had girlfriends at home, and had similar interests.

We developed a close friendship; hung out after class, did homework, played touch football, and took our meals together usually in one of the local beaneries. Both of our roommates flunked out before the first term ended, becoming among the earliest exits of the first-year attrition of about one-third of freshmen registered in various engineering departments; but Mike and I were good students, and eventually graduated together.

Often on our way to dinner, we’d pass a white, rambling, seven-gabled house at 517 Gale Street, just off campus. Something about that house caught my attention. It looked timeless and an inviting place to spend my undergraduate years. There was an alluring character about it. A fraternity resided there, Sigma Mu Sigma, which was founded back in the 1920s by a group of freemasons though the society was not in any way affiliated with the Masonic Lodge.

In those days, at the start of each new term fraternities held what they called “Smokers” during the period of pledge week. The idea was to invite all non-Greek males enrolled in school to an open house to recruit new members. Snacks, desserts, and drinks were served. Free cigarettes were also liberally distributed in four-packs (courtesy of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company), hence the name Smoker.

 

headaches 9

The on-campus RJR representative was “grandfathered” to Sigma Mu Sigma ΣΜΣ; that is, the job was handed down from member to member. Winston and Salem were popular labels, but even then, we referred to cigarettes as weeds, coffin nails, and (mostly) cancer sticks. Mike and I decided to check out several Smokers for free eats—college kids are always hungry—and free cigarettes.

smokers-headachesAfter making the rounds of Smokers in fall and winter when the dust settled (after the smoke cleared—gasp, wheeze, cough, rattle, choke) we pledged a fraternity in the spring. (Aside: After graduation, it took me five years to break the smoking habit.) We selected Sigma Mu Sigma because we liked the house with the seven gables, knew several members, and had rooms available in the fall. The housing cost was on par with the dorms so I figured the economic decision was a push.

Since my father was a gung-ho freemason, I figured he’d support my decision to room in a “Masonic” fraternity—a little bit of misdirection there you see. (It’s one of the many maneuvers I’ve pulled in life that was less than commendable. How many? Well, I attempted to compile a mental list from primary school on, but after an hour and a half, I was only up to a junior year in high school.

Every time I tried to forge ahead; I’d remember other deceptions forgotten. Talk about revealing.) Mike had a different problem since he belonged to a church that considered freemasons a bunch of rat bastards in league with Satan. You can imagine the tap-dancing he had to do when his local paper erroneously reported he’d joined a Masonic fraternity.

As pledges we had daily work details at the house: vacuuming, dusting, mopping, cleaning the bathrooms, etc. Tuesday was the fraternity meeting night for all members, including pledges. After these meetings, the pledge master made us each tell a joke, and would designate a member we had to make laugh. He always selected some disciplined hardass who wouldn’t crack a smile even if everyone else in the room was roaring.

Failure to amuse resulted in a black mark; and the number of total black marks translated into the number of miles we would be dumped in the country on the Night of the Long Walk. (For that ordeal, we were blindfolded, dressed in a gown, given a six-pack of beer and a baseball bat, and individually dropped off somewhere in the boonies.)

HeadachesAfter receiving our inevitable joke-telling black marks, suggestions were taken from the floor from random members who would assign each pledge a “headache”, which was an assignment to be accomplished and reported back at the next meeting. These tasks could be relatively easy (e.g.; chart the temperature of Miami over the next week) or difficult; and sometimes embarrassing (see below). Although I received weekly headaches throughout the pledge term, three are memorable.

The first was to find out why a certain sourpuss math professor, Mrs. Gorecki, usually referred to by students as that-goddam-Gorecki, was a grouch; just what the hell was her problem; why did she act like she was perpetually on the rag; didn’t she get laid enough; and why was she always in a bad mood. Mrs. Gorecki, a thin, severe-looking lady in her early thirties was from Connecticut and had the harsh Yankee accent and abrasive tone to prove it. She was relatively new on campus, a chain smoker, and always had a pissed-off demeanor.

I wasn’t looking forward to the interview but made an appointment using a cover story that I was sent by the university newspaper. I didn’t write for the paper, but Mike did so using his name seemed like a good idea—you know; in case she checked up on me. (Sigh—another for my long list of transgressions.)

Mrs. Gorecki was sitting at her desk puffing on a cigarette and nodded me into a chair. She looked at me suspiciously and closed one eye. “Mike Glossinger? I don’t think so! Isn’t your name Myers, and didn’t you take calculus from me the last term? See, I always remember those who try to hide out back of the room.” 

 

headaches-in-schoolRats! Busted! “Uh…yeah, Mike wasn’t feeling well so he sent me with a list of questions—his questions,” I emphasized. What a coward I was. BTW, honesty compels me to admit, grouch or not, Mrs. Gorecki did a good job in the classroom.

You don’t seem very sharp.” I could tell from her cynical sneer-smile that she enjoyed the dig.

“I got a B,” I said defensively, feeling insulted. Thanks for thinking the least of me.

“I see… I guess you’re brighter than you look; either that or I made a terrible mistake.” That’s right, rub salt in the wound. Her visage grew more suspicious, and she let out an annoyed tobacco-raspy sigh. “All right. What the hell you’d want to know? Ask your questions. Maybe I’ll answer ‘em.”

 

I started easily enough by asking questions about where she came from, went to school, previous teaching experience, etc., to which she responded with curt, abrupt answers after intently studying my face every time. Her eyes bore holes in me. It was not a comfortable experience and I started to sweat.

Finally, I had to get to the meat of the interview. “Still married?” Oops, why did I say “still”?

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?” She gave me that one-eyed challenging look.

“Oh, nothing. Just asking the questions Mike gave me (heh-heh). What does your husband do?”

“That’s none of your business, but he’s an armed services veteran who’s a senior here in electrical engineering.”

“Poor bastard,” I said under my breath. (Tried to slip one by the goalie.)

“What! What was that?” She glared daggers. (Gorecki makes the save.)

“Uh…um…I said, ‘so his last year.” Sweat was trickling between my shoulder blades as I wondered how to skillfully lead into the subject of her perceived rotten demeanor. “Say, are you in a bad mood in the morning, maybe don’t like your job, or is that just the New England way?” I dim-witted blurted, and instantly recognizing my faux, pas, squeezed shut my eyes waiting for an onslaught.

For a long, silent moment nothing was said. I thought (hoped?) maybe she hadn’t heard. My eyes inched open. Mrs. Gorecki took a mighty drag on her cigarette and gave me a murderous look, a volcano about to erupt, as she exhaled. “Get out, Myers! Now!” She hissed and slowly rose from her chair. I thought she was going to come after me and scrambled toward the door knocking over a chair and some papers from her desk. I heard her swear as I zipped out (like in a cartoon), my heart beating wildly. Thank God I’d never been in one of her math classes again since she only taught freshmen. (I hoped.)

For not providing answers to all questions, I received a BLACK MARK. Hey, there was no way I was going to ask if she was always on the rag or didn’t get laid enough. I hoped my ordeal was enough to receive leniency. It wasn’t, but it’s too bad my recitation didn’t qualify as a joke. The brothers certainly enjoyed a long, tearful, hearty laugh at my expense, which I learned was the point of headaches anyway.

The second was being required to check out a student who dressed like a motorcycle hoodlum—like Marlon Brando in The Wild One—and find out what he was all about. He looked like one intimidating, tough s-o-b, and I was more frightened of him than I was of Gorecki. He might just punch my lights out. I figured his nickname would be something like Snake. Once again, I used a campus newspaper subterfuge about doing profiles on students, but this time used my name.

headaches 7He turned out to be a very polite and pleasant fellow happy for someone with whom to converse. My personality didn’t fit the image; a lesson I took for the rest of my life. My interest in him, his attire, his major, and his origin he thought to be flattering. I breathed a huge sigh of relief, and feel guilty to this day that I never spoke to him again.

I did not receive a black mark, but my audience was disappointed I hadn’t been put through some kind of grinder or didn’t have to run for my life. The only point of humor was that I reported he was from Windblown, Indiana. (Woodburn was the actual name, but I had to salvage something.)

Finally, the school had this old Civil War cannon that was chained to a concrete pad near the school cafeteria. My headache was to report the last time the gun was fired. I walked away from the meeting congratulating myself for receiving such an easy task. Even before the internet, the library and local historical society had to have the information: where the gun was manufactured, who used it, where and when was the last time, it was in battle, etc. Well, I’m here to tell you I could not find out fact one. Finally, in a Sunday afternoon panic, I knew what must be done.

Tuesday evening came, and the time for me to report was at hand.

“When was the last time the cannon was fired?” asked the pledge master. Everyone looked around and smirked. I figured many of them had probably been burdened with the same headache when they pledged. They knew they had me, and were about lumber me with another black mark.

I answered calmly, “Last Sunday evening at eighty-thirty”. The response was open-mouthed silence.

headaches-in-the-labI’d spent Sunday afternoon sneaking into the chemistry laboratory—it wasn’t difficult—and made enough gunpowder to charge and fire the weapon. Compressed newspapers were the ammo. After I lit the wick, I ran like hell but heard the boom. What, you think I wanted to be on double secret probation from the dean? A week later the barrel was filled with cement by some killjoy. On the other hand, I made history. Hoo-hah!

The last headache I remember was one given a year later by Mike to a pledge named Wiltanger. It was a physics problem that brought down the house. Here it is: A guy is sitting on the can with his ass six inches above the water line. He drops a 225-gram septic log and accelerates it four feet per second squared with a fart. Determine whether or not the water will splash his ass. Assume he is at sea level. (Note the clever mixing of units.) As I recall, Wiltanger came up with the answer via a controlled laboratory experiment. (Ans. The water splashed his ass.)

ΣΜΣ |  Some years ago, the university annexed the block that included the seven-gabled house. It was razed to make room for campus expansion. Sigma Mu Sigma merged with Acacia, which was thrown off campus in the late 1970s. A year ago, Acacia petitioned to return, which was granted. I’ll see some of my old brothers and a few from my pledge class at a reunion in October. I expect a few Acacia members and pledges may show up as well. Maybe we should give them headaches just for old-time sake. If you can think of any good ones, let me know.

-Your working boy, Gene Myers

 

Going Green: A Guide to Vegetarian Diets

Vegetarian Diets

Chefs started to experiment with cooking without meat back in the day. But the meals were often tasteless. But nowadays after experiencing this for more than a quarter of a century, cooks are combining fruits, vegetable grains, and legumes in exciting new ways. The tastes are so good that even large restaurants are now offering meatless meals.

Healing Power of Vegetarian Diets 2As a result, more than 30 million Americans, including one in three teens, have tried vegetarian meals, according to the American Dietetic Association. They like the health benefits and how good the food tastes. Vegetarian diets have changed, but one thing stayed the same: a plant-based diet, which is low in saturated fat, high in fiber, vitamins, antioxidants, and a powerful array of protective chemicals.

This is the ultimate prescription for a longer and healthier life, according to Virginia Messina, MPH, R.D. a dietitian in Port Townsend, Washington, and co-author of The Vegetarian Way.

Research results have shown that vegetarians have lower rates of cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, type two diabetes, and obesity than people who eat meat. According to British researchers, vegetarians have a 20% lower risk of fatal heart disease and a 40% lower risk of cancer.

Healing Power of Vegetarian DietsOther studies found more positive facts. Fifty years ago, a large study of 27,530 Seventh-Day Adventists, whose religion advocates a vegetarian diet, provided the first scientific link between vegetarian diets and better health. Researchers were amazed to discover that among the vegetarian Adventists, the death rate from cancer was 50 to 70% lower than among other Americans. Since then, study after study has confirmed the benefits of vegetarian eating.

In Asia, where people eat little or no meat, diseases such as heart disease, breast cancer, and diabetes, are far less common than in the United States.

Naturally Lean

Something that makes vegetarian meals so healthy is that they don’t have all the saturated fat and cholesterol that comes from meat. While most Americans get about 36% of their total calories from fat, vegetarians get less, usually between 30% and 34%. And most of the fat they get is the healthier polyunsaturated and monounsaturated type – and not the dangerous saturated fat that comes from animal foods.

In one study, researchers put 500 people on a vegetarian diet. After twelve days, cholesterol levels had dropped an average of 11%.

Besides the fact that vegetarian meals don’t contain saturated fat which makes vegetarian meals so healthy, they also contain “good” fats. According to studies, both polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, which are found in olive oil, canola oil, nuts, seeds, and many other plant foods, can lower the level of cholesterol when they’re used to replace saturated fat in the diet.

And the omega-3 fatty acids found in some plant foods, such as walnuts and flaxseed, can further protect against heart disease by helping to keep artery walls flexible and supporting the electrical “system” within the heart that regulates a healthy heartbeat.

Healing Power of Vegetarian Diets 9The Power of Plants

Doctors in the United States have been pleading with Americans for years to eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes, the same foods that vegetarians eat in abundance. Most plant foods are loaded with antioxidants, like beta-carotene and vitamin C and E. They are essential to protect you against diseases.

Also, plant foods contain an abundance of phytonutrients, which are natural plant compounds that have been shown to lower the risk of cataracts, heart disease, and many other serious problems.

In another study, researchers found that people who got the most carotenoids, the plant pigment that is found in dark green and deep orange, yellow, and red fruits and vegetables, had half the risk of developing macular degeneration (the leading cause of irreversible vision loss in older adults) as people getting less.

Vegetarian diets cut the risk of breast, colon, ovarian, and prostate cancer in several studies. The magic ingredients include several cancer-fighting phytochemicals. The naturally lower levels of saturated fat in most vegetarian diets (except those that rely heavily on cheese) avoid a problem that is connected with meat-rich diets: High-saturated fat diets seem to promote the production of a form of estrogen called estradiol, which is linked to breast cancer.

A study showed that women who ate the most animal fats had a one-third higher risk of breast cancer than those who ate the least.

Another study found that vegetarians have higher levels of “natural killer cells” – special white blood cells that attack cancer cells – in their bloodstreams.

Healing Power of Vegetarian Diets 11But even if you took all the nutrients out of plant foods, the vegetarian diet would still have an edge, because of all the dietary fiber it contains. The average American gets only 12-15 grams of fiber per day, while vegetarians are getting as much as three times that amount.

It is almost impossible to exaggerate the importance of getting enough dietary fiber. because it isn’t absorbed by the body, fiber passes through the digestive tract, adding bulk to stools and helping them to move more quickly. This does more than prevent constipation. The more quickly stools and any harmful substances they contain move through the colon, the less likely they are to do cellular damage that could lead to cancer. Washing is essential.

Also, one type of fiber called soluble fiber forms a gel in the intestine that helps to prevent fat and cholesterol from passing through the intestinal wall and into the bloodstream. In a study of more than 43,000 men, for example, researchers found that those who added just 10 grams of fiber a day to their diets – about 25% of the amount vegetarians get each day – decreased their risk of heart disease by almost 30%.

Vegetarian diets also guard against other health issues, like kidney stones, gallstones, and asthma. Because high-protein diets with much meat prompt your body to excrete more calcium, oxalate, and uric acid – which are the main building blocks of kidney stones. Diets with a lot of meat increase the chance of getting gallstones in women and could threaten bone density by promoting the excretion of calcium.

In a Swedish study of 24 women and men, vegetable-based meals cut the frequency and severity of asthma attacks.

Balance is the Key

A vegetarian diet can provide all the nutrients your body needs, including protein. This is even true for strict vegetarians, who may avoid eggs, milk, and other animal foods altogether. The proteins in meat are complete, which means they contain all the amino acids your body needs.

Healing Power of Vegetarian Diet 4The proteins in legumes and grains, however, may be low in one or more of the amino acids, but because legumes and grains contain some amino acids, eating a variety of these foods throughout the day will provide the proper balance.

However, vegetarians have the risk of vitamin B12 deficiency, which the body needs to make red blood cells. It’s only found in animal foods. People who don’t get enough vitamin B12 feel weak and tired.

You can get plenty of vitamin B12 by eating foods that are fortified with this nutrient, such as fortified cereals, or/and you can take B12 supplements.

Sugar spikes your insulin.

Harnessing Mental Endurance

Mental Toughness

Through the years I have had the chance to coach many professionals and one thing I can tell you without reservation is the ideal players were all mentally tough. It’s a tough concept to describe until you see it, but it’s apparent when you see a player which has it.Mental Toughness 13

To explain my point, not every one of the best athletes gets it. Not, every big-league player is mentally tough and many never reach the large leagues which have great mental toughness. It’s not about ability, I’ve coached many great athletes that didn’t possess a clue about being mentally tough and would fold under pressure. They might work well when there was nothing at risk, however, when this game is at balance, or even the competition was tough, they often failed.

However, I’ve witnessed many players with average skills, but mentally tough, perform in such a way nobody thought they might perform. A clutch hit, a vital bunt, and an excellent defensive play that stopped a rally, mentally tough players complete the job. Actually, the higher the pressure, the greater they perform.

Something I’ve arrived at and understood with experience is the fact that mental toughness will not be an inborn DNA trait, but instead one which is developed with time and contact with adverse conditions. Preparation for mental toughness starts with experiences at an early age. Parents can enjoy a vital role to start the entire process of training mental toughness, however, they need assistance as you go along.

A disciplined educational system with higher expectations and good classroom rules, together with tough, but fair coaches (or mentors in alternative activities) having a positive mindset, is important to creating a child mentally, whether or not they are a sports athlete usually are not.

 

Mental Toughness 000

This is among the lot of reasons why all children need to engage in balanced organized extracurricular activities at an early age: Karate, gymnastics, ballet, music, scouts, children, and youth activities at church or youth sports will play a role in starting to instill the discipline and structure that is required to build up mentally.

Notice I said start to play a role. It requires some time and preparation.

Growth and development of mental toughness (and leadership skills) are other reasons why athletes have to be involved with an effective training course when they may be 14 or fifteen years old.

A training course not just helps you to build power, strength, and agility, but is essential in developing mentally. Players ought to be accountable to some mentor (trainer, coach, etc.) along with the camaraderie and pressure of the small peer group, even when it’s only a couple of others.

In case a player is involved with a training course sooner than 14 or 15, it ought to be with regards to agility and speed training, together with teaching the correct approaches to strength conditioning without weights. Before any training course begins, please talk to your child’s physician throughout their annual physical, as the creation of each child is different.

Defining Mental Toughness

Mental Toughness-10

Mental toughness is having the psychological advantage that enables someone to perform at peak maximum effort and efficiency throughout the demands which are put on them during training, practice, or competition. Specifically, once the demands are greatest or even the conditions become adverse.

Whenever the requirements would be the greatest occurs when the characteristics of mental toughness would be the best shown.

A few of the many characteristics which are evident whenever a player is a mentally tough include:

– Self-confidence

– Self-motivation

– Focus

– Concentration

– Composure

– Calmness

– Poise

– Self-control

– Positive Energy

– Determination

– Persistence

– Leadership

Please be aware, this doesn’t imply that the result is a win, oftentimes these attributes can display the most throughout a loss, especially a detailed loss to some tough opponent or during adverse conditions. But with time along with careful training, the mental toughness of skilled players concerns to light in championships won.

Developing Mental Toughness

To be mentally tough you must practice attributes that lead to mental toughness. If only there have been an equation to adhere to, however, there is not. It requires some perseverance underneath the right leadership to build up mental toughness. Parents, educators, coaches, as well as other mentors, should be systematically active in the training process.

Few athletes require the amount of mental toughness, brute strength, and physical prowess that boxers take into the ring for every fight. Boxing is an extremely tough sport on every level, but it can also be one of the most rewarding.

While taking a beating on the canvas is a challenge best left to the pros, the average person can enjoy tons of health benefits from some time in the ring without the repeated right hooks to the face. Let’s look at four reasons why boxing gyms should replace your regular gym in the quest to improve your health, strength, and mental fortitude.

Mental Toughness 6

Your time in the world is just as mental as it is physical. This sport forces you to push yourself through fatigue, endure pain, and dish out a few solid hits along the way. By pushing you past your limits and giving you valuable self-defense techniques, fighting can bolster your confidence in daily life. Succeeding in the ring requires courage, Zen-like concentration, and self-esteem.

Sparring with a trainer or partner at the gym allows you to summon these key mental qualities in a fight scene. Once you’ve learned to exercise these traits in the ring, they’ll become more available to you during the trials of day-to-day living.

If you’re looking for a new style of exercise that will shape you up mentally and physically, it may be time to abandon the treadmills and free weights to step inside the ring. Seek out local boxing gyms that offer the services, equipment, and training programs you need to start floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee.

Also, it requires failure and the opportunity to recover. Lots of people develop mental toughness with the experience of failure. Good parents usually do not want their kids to fail and I also realize that. These days, way too many blame others for your failure.

Athletes face a lot of challenges in their careers, whether it is new opponents or their private limitations. Developing mental training, however, can make it easier so they can discover the following:

Rugby-Mental Toughness

Better self-esteem – Performance anxiety management – Emotional control – Positive thinking – Better focus – Better self-assurance – The capability to manage challenges and obstacles better.

 

  1. Goal setting

Setting goals gives a sports athlete something to appear to and help. It can be what leads the mental training skill further down their list known as motivation. It also encourages positive thinking, increased energy, better self-esteem along with growth just as one athlete and person.

  1. Focus & Concentration

What this means is keeping the mind in the present. Everybody is allowed the rare wandering thought, however, when looking at competitive moments it could change everything. It can cause hesitation or distraction. Instead, discover ways to keep the mind inside the moment and so on thoughts products you plan to complete next instead of the mistakes that have already happened and should not be changed.

  1. Imagery & Visualization

Imagery requires over to be able to place a picture in your thoughts. It’s about re-creating moments or pulling on memories to create a new and vivid scenario in your head. This requires that you be much better aware of your surroundings, yourself and just what you happen to be capable of doing. In the long run, it could improve your skill, success, and assurance when under pressure and enable you better overcome your emotions and reactions.

  1. Relaxation & Stress Management

Relaxation could be the opposite of stress as well as for those moments when you don’t have time to relax, obtaining a strategy to manage your stress threshold and concentrate that energy elsewhere is going to help in the long run. Your ultimate challenge with stress is muscle tension and the way it might clutter your head. Learn how to focus the mind, banish fear with full confidence and relax tensed muscles with the right techniques.

  1. Self-Confidence

There’s a lot to get said regarding the success of the confident athlete. If you are that certain of your abilities, there is no room for doubt. Instead, you’ve got a stronger wish to succeed and to strive further along with your goals and it changes the way you think, focus, and react. Confidence-building exercises are usually a great source along with other great skills.

  1. Motivation

An athlete’s success will depend on his degree of motivation from both an inner desire in addition to outside factors. Finding out how to take your desires and set these phones use to inspire you might help enhance a player’s performance and overall motivation.

  1. Self-talk & Positive Thinking

Your thoughts have a strong relation to the way we perform physically. A sports athlete who thinks negatively or nit-picks their mistakes and flaws internally isn’t any good at competing. Some could imagine that pointing out the negative is a superb motivator, however, exercising positive thought can better motivate improvement and success.

  1. Flow in Sport

What this means is something beyond concentration while focusing. It must employ immersing yourself inside the moment and from the sport itself. This is simply not some abstract and fantastical notion. Instead, flow in sports is a situation that wants the mind and body to be in sync to try and do the most beneficial and effortless performance. Learning these kinds of flow by learning how to control your mind can cause incredible performance.

­­­­­Mental Toughness 4

Parents are quick to blame the teacher for problems in class or perhaps a coach once the child will not be excelling in an activity. Mental toughness is unable to be developed properly when blaming others. The contrary is the situation.

 

 

 

 

How to Stop Puppy Barking: A Guide to Successful…

Stop Puppy Barking

Puppy Barking/Successful Dog Training. Before we train your puppy to avoid barking, we need to consider the explanations of why your pup barks to begin with.

The age-old question is, why do Puppies bark?

Stop-Puppy-BarkingSome puppies decide to bark as they are after attention and the only method they could get noticed is via barking. The greater you take notice of the barking the greater you might be reinforcing the issue and behavior.

Puppies learned ways to get their mom’s attention once they were within the litter plus, they have discovered the fastest method of getting your attention is through excessive vocalization.

This behavior will not be natural to some puppies or dogs whatsoever which is learned behavior, the reason behind this is when they made lots of noise within the wild chances are they might have gotten negative attention from their wild animals.

One more reason behind excessive vocalization is the result of why dogs and puppies were first adopted as pets. Humans decided to obtain a pet (a long time ago) so they might have a person to guard the home as the owners were out – and a method to guard the home and also to scare off possible intruders was to get a dog that barked or made allot of noise.

One more reason why dogs and puppies bark is boredom, separation anxiety, and frustration. Simply by making a lot of noise your pooch is trying to be reunited along with you and also by creating a allot of noise your pooch is looking to get your attention (however far you may be) so you are reunited being a pack sooner. However, this occasional barking may progress to howling when it is permitted to continue for too much time.

Anxiety and fear may also cause excessive vocalization – this is used as a technique by your puppy to scare off something that they might perceive being a danger. High-pitched barking also makes your pup feel much better too.

Prevention and Cure

Whenever your dog or puppy is making all of that noise – a good thing that can be done would be to ignore him. In case your pooch is making a lot of noise for attention by acknowledging your puppy’s s behavior whether this is reprimanding him or coming whenever he will make a noise – you might be simply reinforcing that your pup wants your attention.

In case your dog or puppy whines as he is within the crate or playpen – don’t allow him to out or acknowledge him until he or she is quiet – so when he or she is quiet reinforce the behavior by allowing him or from the crate (don’t allow him to out until he or she is quiet)!

Never encourage your pet or puppy to bark – either by teasing him or some other method.

Start puppy socialization as soon as possible – the greater experiences that the puppy gets utilized the less frightened he is going to be as well as the not as likely he will bark.

Provide your pet or puppy with a lot of methods to be stimulated – this can stop your pup from becoming bored or frustrated; it’s also a great way for the pooch to convey himself non-verbally.

Reinforce good behavior – in case your puppy utilized to bark when cars went past and are also now quiet – reward him – start using these techniques whenever he or she is quiet around previous experiences as he might have barked.

Proper Dog TrainingFrequent exercise is an excellent method to use with dogs and puppies that bark – as excessive vocalization is extremely tiring and when your pooch is tired, he is going to be not as likely to bark.

In case your puppy is a guarding type; then don’t allow him to use places where he can see traffic passing, mail arriving, or people walking beyond the window.

Anyway, hopefully, you enjoyed our page regarding how to stop dog barking. The greater you utilize these techniques the greater your pooch will stay quiet, not as likely to bark, happy and anxiety free.

Successful Dog Training

Watching your children’s eyes illuminate whenever you bring a brand-new puppy house is truly a heartwarming experience. Your pet includes unconditional love and warm genuine friendship. If you’ve owned a pet dog before you are already aware that along with the delights of the new doggy;- it may also include frustration, unconditional messes, and genuine destruction. Do not worry, with some obedience training you can head off unwanted dog behavior.

5 Wonderful Benefits of Proper Dog Training

It builds a good relationship with both you and your dog and establishes you because of the pack leader. Enough time you may spend together cooperating, and researching one another, deepens your bond.

A properly trained dog is a welcome dog that can be taken almost anywhere and is also fantastic to become around when camping, hiking, as well as just taking a walk, as he will not be high-risk or perhaps a nuisance to others.

Stop-Puppy-Barking 6Proper dog training corrects undesirable dog behavior. Chewing your furniture, digging your flowers, barking at everyone who passes from your yard as well as bolting the door could be resolved with some concentration on obedience training.

Whenever you train your pet, it stimulates your dog’s intellect and allows him to make use of his brain; dogs are curious naturally and wish to find out about both world as well as the people around them. Dogs possess a deep need to please us, it’s instinctive, then when they could know what you want of this plus, they react to our commands; they think vital and needed, a powerful member of the pack.

It will save you money and time! Making the effort to teach your pet to behave properly in your house saves time cleaning messes and will save you money by lacking to change torn-up pillows, shoes, or any other valuable possessions.

There are lots of wonderful benefits to some properly trained dogs, a lot to completely list, but among my favorites is the companionship, using a dog that will protect our family when I’m not around. It had been best said by an unknown author: “He or she is your friend, your lover, your defender. You might be his life, his love, and his awesome leader.”

dog-training 2

The top proper dog training technique is the usage of Positive Reinforcement to teach your pet. This is just rewarding good behavior that you would like to find out repeated, and ignoring bad dog behavior.

This can be a direct contrast to some now outdated ways of obedience training which by today’s standards was cruel, (like using shock collars, hitting your pet with rolled-up newspapers, as well as rubbing your dog’s nose in poop.)

Your pet instinctively would like to make you happy and if you use positive reinforcement to teach your pet you will notice that your pet learns quicker as well as the instruction is remembered throughout your dog’s life. This is the best way to a properly trained dog.

 

5 superb pieces of advice to facilitate your pet training efforts

dog-trainingMake sure to use meaningful rewards. Most dogs become bored quickly and don’t respond with only a pat on the head or perhaps a good boy. To help keep your training to the highest standards use tempting incentives permanently dog behavior.

Mix in the rewards, don’t always provide the same treatment while training your pet. All dogs have different favorite treats; I’ve trained dogs that will practically rob a bank for any liver treat. Try to look for 2 or 3 special treats which you can use just whenever you train your pet.

Make use of the right timing whenever you reward your pet for obeying a command. Your ultimate goal would be to mark the required dog behavior by having a treat timed so your dog understands what behavior earned the treat.

 

Some dog trainers recommend a clicker while training to mark the actual moment your pet does everything you desire, then immediately provide the reward. This is effective but so does a higher-pitched “whoop,” or some other sound the dog can identify because of the reward sound.

Directions to become a good Canine Citizen: Sit, Down, Stay, Come, Heel, Off, and No.

Be clear and consistent together with your commands. Decide your verbal clues before you begin your training and stay with them. Make sure that the whole family uses the same commands as well as your dog’s rate of obedience training is going to be higher and you’ll see quicker alternation in dog behavior.

Take time to learn proper dog training techniques – it can help to have it right the very first time out. If you’re a newcomer to obedience training or perhaps an experienced trainer; it’s smart big dividends to read through trusted sources to understand more about the advantages of training your pet.

You happen to be the best person to teach your pet! It’d be easy to teach a pet dog to accomplish just about anything. Beyond understanding basic dog behavior and obedience training, I’ve trained dogs to seal the doorway, dance, speak, play bang you’re dead, catch Frisbees, as well as other cute and impressive tricks. 

-special thanks to Gloria for all her insights!

 

 

The Superfood of the 21st Century: Avocados

Avocados  avocados-8

The well-known characteristics of fruit, which is light, low-calorie, and fat-free, do not apply to the avocado. An avocado contains a lot of calories, 360 or more. And it is also one of the few fruits with a measurable fat content, about 30 gr. each. That’s almost half the daily recommended amount for an adult.

If you have doubts about the fact that a food that contains so much fat could be good for you, ask a dietitian. He will tell you that adding some avocado to your diet, could improve your health.

Avocados have high folate and potassium content. They are also rich in fiber and monounsaturated fat, both are important for people who are concerned about diabetes and heart health.

A favorite part of a diabetes diet people with diabetes has always been told to eat more carbohydrates and cut back on fat. In general, that’s good advice, but it hasn’t to be the best advice for everyone.

guacamole-saladDoctors have discovered that when some people with diabetes eat a lot of carbohydrates, they tend to develop high levels of triglycerides, a type of blood fat that may contribute to heart disease. However, when people replace some of those carbohydrates with fat that’s found in avocados, the dangerous fats in the bloodstream tend to decline.

The monounsaturated fat in avocados is called Oleic acid. They have found that this type of monounsaturated fat control fat levels in the body and helps control diabetes.

Scientists in Mexico put sixteen women with diabetes on a relatively high-fat diet, with about 40% of calories coming from fat. Most of the fat comes from avocados. The result was a 20% drop in triglycerides. Women on a higher carbohydrate plan, by contrast, had only a 7% drop in triglycerides. Someone on a 2000-calorie-a-day diet might be advised to eat 33 grams of monounsaturated fat. You can get about 20 grams from just one avocado.

Lowering High Cholesterol Apart from people with diabetes, people with high cholesterol levels can also benefit from the oleic acid in avocados.

In Mexico, where guacamole is considered almost a food group, researchers compared the effects of two low-fat diets. The diets were the same, except that one included avocado. While both lowered levels of dangerous low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, the avocado diet raised levels of healthy high-density lipoprotein, (HDL) cholesterol, while slightly lowering triglycerides.

Avocado

 

Avocados also help in another way to lower bad cholesterol. They contain large amounts of fiber, and fiber adds bulk to the stool, causing it with the cholesterol it contains, to be excreted from the body quicker. One avocado contains more fiber than a bran muffin 10 grams or 40% of the Daily Value for fiber.

 

Support the Heart Avocados are also a rich source of potassium. Half an avocado provides 548 mg of potassium. 16% of the DV for this mineral. That’s more than you’d get from a medium banana or a cup of orange juice. Studies prove that people with a potassium-rich diet, like avocados, have a significantly lower risk of high blood pressure and related diseases like heart attack and stroke.

In addition, some research has shown that oleic acid can reduce markers of inflammation in your body. Inflammation plays an important role in the development of artery-clogging atherosclerosis.

Rich in Folate Another benefit from avocado is that it’s rich in folate, a B vitamin that helps prevent the threatening birth defects of the brain & spine. Many women don’t get enough folate in their diets, but avocados can go a long way toward fixing that problem. One avocado contains 114 micrograms of folate, which is 28% of the recommended Daily Value, or nearly 20% of the 600 micro grams that pregnant women need daily.

Minerals for your Bones Avocado can help you to keep your bones healthy. A cup of mashed avocado contains 120 mg of phosphorus, which is 12% of the DV. This mineral is a major component for your bones and teeth, and having plenty of phosphorus on hand also helps your body produce energy from the foods you eat.

Zinc for Good Nutrition You’ll also find 147 mg of zinc swimming in the green depth in a cup of mashed avocado. That’s just under 10% of the DV. Zinc conducts countless activities in your body. The mineral helps keep your immune system working properly, for example, and plays a role in wound healing.

Zinc also aids in your senses of smell and taste, which are necessary to be able to enjoy the food you eat.

Shopping for Avocados If you live in the US, get your avocados from Florida or California. They provide all the nutrients without all the fat. They have about 2//3 of the calories and half the fat of Hass avocados. The best time to buy avocados is between November and March. They may have one-third of the fat of those picked in September or October.Avocado 32

Warning for Drug Users People who are taking warfarin should take care when eating avocados. Researchers in Israel found that eating between one-half and one avocado could make the drug work less efficiently. While the effects didn’t last long, when people stopped eating avocados, the drug started working better again – this could be dangerous for some people. So, if you’re taking warfarin, check with your doctor before adding avocados to your meals.

Help them ripen Like bananas, avocados ripen better off the tree, so they are picked and sold unripe. Once you get them home, leave them on the counter for several days until the fruit is slightly soft. Or if you’re in a hurry to eat them, place them in a paper bag with an apple or banana to soften them. Never place hard avocados in the refrigerator, then they will ripen too slowly.

Nourishing Your Kids with Healthy Foods

How to get kids to eat healthily

Get Your Babies to Eat Healthy Food

Patience, perseverance, and a small amount of creativity will greatly assist in making your children eat healthy food. It is not surprising that the children might be by far the most notorious picky eaters up to now. Children choose to eat unhealthy food options in the event you tolerate them. However, that shouldn’t continually be the situation.

Now is the ideal time for you to create a firm foundation for proper nutrition by teaching and encouraging these to eat healthy food for kids. Remember that healthy food for kids is made up of several food combinations from your four major recommended food groups. So long as you can strike an equilibrium with the recommended food groups – dairy, meat protein, fruits, vegetables, and grains – you’re ready. Here are a few ideas to help you get started.

Introduce New Food Flavors A Step at Any Given Time

Don’t let your children go into a food rut. Avoid serving them the same meal repeatedly. Begin by browsing or reading through recipe ideas from books, and magazines, as well as online. Gradually introduce new food flavors, pairings, and recipes every week in conjunction with their favorite food.

You can begin with greens. Dice new vegetables and incorporate all of them with their favorite food like pasta, soup, omelet, or casserole. Just be sure to combine it each week by introducing new methods to cook veggies using their favorite meals.

Involve Your Children in Cooking

The very next time you visit the supermarket, bring your children along and get them to choose their very own fruits and vegetables. In cooking healthy food for kids, invite them to assist you using the preparation. Nothing too much profile. You can make them wash the produce, stir the soup, as well as help to make fresh pasta in your own home.

This is a great method to help make your kids appreciate the enjoyable side of cooking and eating while teaching them basic cooking skills. Research indicates that kids are more inclined to consume the food they helped prepare.Get Your babies eating Healthy Food

Do Not Radically Eliminate Desserts or High-Fat Foods

How to get kids to eat healthily; the true secret to healthy food for kids, much like adults, is moderation. There is absolutely no have to completely ban frozen treats or fries from the kid’s diet. Should you, it can only make sure they want much more of these food types. What you should do is ensure they understand what’s negative and positive on their behalf.

There’s always an area for sugary desserts or oily foods once in a while. Help them learn the need for small portions of these types of foods, or even better find healthy alternatives that will still permit them to take pleasure in the same flavor without compromising the vitamins and minerals.

Use Your Imagination in Plating and Serving

Everyone knows how kids are enticed by anything visual especially colors. Apply that to food. Have just as many color variations as possible when serving them the meals they eat. You may also go so far as to create art pieces using their fruits and vegetables. Invite these to join you for making by far the most visually appealing meals.

Vegetables and fruit happen to be colorful ingredients. You just need some creativity in plating and serving. Kids love dips. Why not produce a delicious, low-fat veggie dip which will entice these to eat their greens and fruits?

Do Not Bribe Your Children into Eating Their FruitsGet Your Kids to Eat Healthy Fruit

In contrast to popular belief, bribing kids to consume their fruits can perform more damage than good. Usually do not bargain together with your kids with rewards like using a full-on sugary dessert after consuming vegetables etc. This can only heighten negative food associations where fruits are requirements and desserts are enjoyable, delicious rewards.

Children often bring these negative associations along with them towards adulthood. Just get them to eat one bite. Usually do not quit. They might nothing like it immediately but that doesn’t mean they are likely to hate it forever.

Become A Role Type of Healthy Eating

This can be a critical part of teaching your children to consume healthily. Set a great example on their behalf now because they are probably to keep in mind their parent’s words, attitudes, and habits about healthy eating. Allow them to see the things they are missing. Healthy eating for children is super important!

Eat your fruits and vegetables, and tell them how delicious and nutritious it is. You can go overboard and make use of your acting skills if you would like. Kids are observant and keen on the elders around them. Be that fun-loving, healthy eater they would like to emulate because they get older.

And, when it’s time for bed…How to Calm a Child for Bed 

How you can calm a young child down for bed can require lots of patience, even for the best-experienced caregivers. From the evening hours, young children could be from sorts, whiny, tearful, and uncoordinated. Youngsters lack the opportunity to set limits on their own if they are exhausted and that is certainly where we as parents and caregivers are available in.

Calming before bedtimeHow you can calm a young child down begins with reducing the pace within your home and establishing a relaxing atmosphere that can help induce rest and sleep. Even the smallest of kids take advantage of choice making like which pajamas to put on or what stuffed animal to rest with.

Give children options to promote maturity, but at this particular age which period of the evening, keep it simplistic. Don’t forget to brush!  Get your kids to brush their teeth before bedtime

Do attempt to schedule an evening routine that the toddler can rely on. A routine helps create a level of comfort the kid can depend on and derive security from thus making relaxation easier. After dinner, an evening bath filled with bubbles and fanfare is how you can calm a young child down in a constructive way.

Tepid warm water features a soothing effect and can help settle down the central nervous system

Stay away from too much sugar throughout your day. It’s unhealthy and could help make your toddler hyperactive. How you can calm a young child down following a day of excessive sugar might be a futile effort. Excess juice and fruit snacks are typical causes of excessive sugar.

Bonding together with your child before bed could be loads of fun using the right DVD or video. Select a title that is soothing like Teletubbies or similar fare rather than long. Don’t attempt to place the kid before the television on their own to get other activities done. How to Calm a Child for Bed

How you can calm a young child down for bed could be answered to some extent simply by making yourself readily available for a great cuddle.

Do attempt to keep a calm demeanor and temperament yourself. Children learn by example. When they realize it’s dark outside, the bath continues to be taken, the DVD has been watched as well as your mood is quiet and loving, children will react by calming down.

Create the child’s bedroom in a loving environment. Put in a nightlight. Ensure the child has their favorite stuffed toy to rest with. Read a brief story or sing a quiet lullaby. A nurturing setting for bed sets the tone for sleep.

This author has enjoyed raising three children and has been witness to cranky, overwrought behavior. I hope these guidelines help and you could make putting your charge to sleep an exciting time.

Happy children become happy adults.

-Beautifully written by Gloria Phillips

 

 

Louisiana’s Finest: Gumbo Recipe

Louisiana’s Gumbo Recipe

Louisiana Gumbo is said to be one of the greatest additions to American cooking. It is a stew or soup and its origin is said to be from the French when they began with the bouillabaisse in the 18th century. Then later the file’ powder of the Choctaw’ along with seafood was a welcome addition.

Louisiana's Gumbo RecipeStill, later the African Americans added okra (the Bantu African name ‘kingombo’) is said to have given its name to Gumbo. Another version is that the Choctaw word for file’ is “combo” and that is how gumbo got its name. After the African Americans, the Spanish colonists also put their two bits into the Gumbo with the introduction of the holy trinity of onions, celery, and bell peppers.

The Creoles of New Orleans also added tomatoes and a variety of cooking techniques to it that added the much-wanted variety to this dish.

At the start, this was a simple soup with vegetables and meat in it. Okra got added to it and it brought not only a different flavor to it but also a texture that thickened the soup. Later somebody came up with the idea of flour as a thickening agent and still that pig lard browned in flour gave an altogether new coloring, texture, and taste to the Gumbo.

This concoction of flour and pig lard was called a roux and as they say, the rest is history. The roux became the favorite thickening agent along with the traditional okra. Another thickening agent that got added was by the Choctaw Indians and was called file’ or ground leaves of the sassafras tree which brought with it its flavor and texture.

Gumbo RecipeFrom this complete evolution of the ubiquitous Gumbo, we can draw only one conclusion there were too many hands that made this stew or broth and did not spoil it rather they added their individuality to it. That is why the saying goes that no two Gumbo dishes will ever taste the same even if the same recipe is used.

The recipe that has been given below is the Tennessee version of the Chicken and Ham Gumbo with a slight twist to it. 

Preparation Time: It takes fifteen minutes to prepare.

Cooking Time: It takes roughly one hour and fifteen minutes to cook the stew or soup.

Total Time: Total time taken is one and a half hours give or take a few minutes.

Nutritional Value: The total caloric count for gumbo is 130 of which carbohydrates are 18 grams or 6%, total fat content is 4 grams or 6%, proteins are six grams and cholesterol is 15 milligrams or 5%.

Main Ingredients

  • Four tablespoons of butter
  • One-fourth cup of diced smoked ham
  • Half a cup of diced celery
  • One green pepper, chopped
  • One large onion, chopped
  • One-fourth cup of raw rice
  • One tablespoon of flour
  • Two quarts of strong chicken broth
  • One cup of sliced okra (fresh or canned)
  • One cup chopped fresh or solid-pack canned tomatoes
  • Two tablespoons chopped pimiento
  • Half a cup of coarsely diced cooked or canned chicken

Preparation or Method

  1. Fry the ham, celery, green pepper, and onion in the butter until soft.
  2. Add rice to this and cook, stirring for five minutes.
  3. Add flour, blend, and then stir in broth and heat.
  4. Add remaining ingredients.
  5. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  6. Cover and let it simmer for 40 minutes till everything gets cooked.

Any Possible Variations: Gumbo is a soup or stew which is open to variations. Culinary history is proof that in the making of gumbos there have been so many variables and each set of people has added something to it down memory lane.

cajun-gumboYou can make the Gumbo a la Louisiana style by adding shrimp and other seafood to it because the people of this state were farmers and fisher folks as this state has some of the most extensive networks of bayous and rivers where catfish, craw-fish and other game fish were harvested. Nearer to the Gulf of Mexico oysters, shrimps, crabs and other forms of seafood were readily available.

The Hunting Season in Fall saw many games such as ducks, rabbits, and other wild games brought in by the Cajun hunters. So whatever meat and seafood were available along with the seasonal vegetables would go into the soup/stew pot and would go to feed many families and friends.

How to Garnish and Serve: Many would not know but the hot and spicy garnish in the Gumbo has been added to it only in the last thirty years. Before that Gumbo was served only with some droplets of Tabasco or Louisiana hot sauce not to make it hot but give the flavor of pepper sauce and vinegar.

The smoked lean meats and the okra and roux would give the zing and zip to the soup. The stew or soup can be garnished with chopped cilantro or a slice of sour lime.

How to Store: 

To store Gumbo you would have to be very careful because many kinds of Gumbo have seafood in them and this tends to spoil quickly. But then Gumbo is generally not eaten in one go and is relished for many days after its preparation. When stored and refrigerated correctly it will give you pleasure for many days.

The best way to store Gumbo is to do it immediately after it has been cooked. If you are wanting to eat it in the next few days then put it in an airtight container and store it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator where it is the coolest.

If there is seafood in it do not let it stay in the refrigerator for more than three or four days. Ensure that the setting of your refrigerator is below 40°F.

If you are planning to eat the Gumbo after some days then you can deep freeze it in a sealed plastic bag in the freezer after squeezing out as much air as possible from it. See that your freezer is at least at 0°F. To defrost it bring it down from the freezer into the refrigerated area.

Or else you can defrost the sealed bag in cold water making frequent changes to the water. Once it has defrosted heat it and eat it immediately. If you are planning to eat small portions of the Gumbo then store it in smaller sealed bags and take out only those you plan to eat leaving the rest in the freezer.

shrimp-for-gumboRelated Information: Roux is said to be one of the basic thickening and tasteful agents in the dish of Gumbo. Given below is the basic version of how to make the roux. To make the roux generally most recipes call for an equal amount of any one of these cooking mediums such as shortening, butter, lard, oil, and in some cases bacon drippings and an equal amount of flour.

What cooking medium is being used gives the flavor and texture to the roux. One can use half a cup of any of the cooking mediums mentioned above to half a cup of flour, though many recipes call for two-thirds cups of the cooking medium to half a cup of flour.

Put the cooking medium into a skillet and melt it on a low flame till it becomes liquid when it is warm slowly sprinkle the flour on it and keep on stirring so that lumps are not formed or kept to a minimum. Ensure that the flour does not burn even slightly and become black as otherwise, you will have to dispose of the whole thing.

Stir the flour in it continuously till it becomes brown. As soon as that happens remove it from the heat and add it to the recipe that requires it, in this case, the Gumbo.

Hints: To avoid the viscosity and stringiness of the okra when you cook it excessively, add it just twenty minutes before serving and cook it till it just gets tender. If you are using file’ in your gumbo dish then do not add it to the whole pot as it breaks down when cooked excessively.

Instead, put a quarter or half spoon in the individual bowl depending on the size of the bowl and the individual’s taste. If you have added it to the whole pot then make sure that you do not boil it again.

For more recipes visit https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/authentic-new-orleans-style-gumbo/

 

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Ruko U11 Pro Drone with 4K Camera 3

 

The Secrets to Successful Dog Training

Best Dog Training we can do for our Dogs

Best Dog Training 2

 

We’re always told how important it is to teach our dogs, but precisely what is proper dog training, and the reason why it is essential anyway?

This list explains why it is vital we provide proper socialization and training to canine friends.

Please read these 5 undeniable explanations of why we owe it to the dogs to teach them:

Proper dog training helps you to build and strengthen a wholesome and productive relationship together with your dog.

Proper dog training opens the lines of communication between both you and your dog. A genuine type of two-way communication is established through positive non-violent proper dog training. Both you and your dog will become familiar with to have interacted with one another in a mutually respectful manner, according to cooperation and understanding.

A properly socialized and trained dog can become an excellent lifelong companion, workmate, and friend. An untrained dog can easily turn into a burden as well as an endless supply of frustration. Rather than using a lopsided relationship that your location is continually yelling at or reprimanding your untrained dog, why not set your pet as much as succeed by offering some leadership and clear guidelines for him/her to adhere to?

Best Dog Training 11An experienced dog is a highly regarded and trusted part of society that is welcomed almost anywhere. This needs to be an optimistic thing for the relationship, doesn’t it?


Training prevents many common “dog problems” from ever arising.

An entire selection of common dog behavior problems could be prevented through some obedience training. Dogs are creatures of habit why not utilize this to your benefit by helping your pet to build up good behavior habits from an earlier age? In case you are proactive and set up some simple guidelines and routines for the puppy to adhere to you might never need to deal with destructive behaviors like digging, chewing, excessive barking as well as separation anxiety. Don’t forget the poop bags!

Whenever a so-named behavior problem does arise both you and your trained dog is going to be well-equipped to operate through it. It is possible to communicate to your dog the behavior is unacceptable. You may also decide to get the dog to execute a different behavior instead of the current problem. A good example of this could be in case your dog was up surfing your countertops for food scraps you can get him/her to “visit your spot” instead.

The majority of “bad dogs” or dogs with behavior problems eventuate since the dog has never been taught any better. A pet dog will not chew your expensive shoes to obtain back to you or as he/she is evil. They do it just since you left the shoe lying around having a bored and stressed dog. Most likely in the event, you provided a tasty chew toy and did some chew toy training in that case your dog will be delighted to chew around the toy only.

An experienced dog is another pleasure to consider for any walk (no pulling!) and trips to your Vet or Dog Groomer are never an issue.

 

Vsezund Dog Training Collar


Best Dog Training 6

Training your pet is a necessary safety measure for you personally, your pet, and exactly what enters into connection with your pet.

Getting your dog under voice control in almost any situation is an extremely reassuring position to stay in – it might even save your dog’s life one day. In case your dog is going to bolt out onto an active road or get something dangerous it is great to immediately intervene and alter their behavior by having an obedience training command like “no”, “come” or “let it rest”.

A suitably socialized and trained dog is a much safer proposition around other dogs and animals. Proper dog training plays an important role in educating your pet on how you can act appropriately around yourself, your kids, and visitors to your house.

An experienced dog is confident, secure, and comfy together with his/her devoted family.

A properly trained dog appreciates the guidance, structure, and boundaries you provide through training. It’s much better than using a nervous, anxious, and confused dog that is continually being yelled at for things he/she doesn’t even understand. Training relieves a lot of the frustration and stress that exists between both you and your dog.


my best friendTraining creates proper household etiquette for the dog to adhere to. It addresses such issues as bolting the entryway, chewing, jumping on guests, and excessive barking.


Proper dog training offers a brilliant release or outlet for all your dog’s pent-up energy. This energy needs to emerge in one method or another why not channel it into something productive like obedience training?

An experienced dog’s life requires a far different way from those of an untrained dog.

Most dogs that wind up in animal shelters arrive there simply because they have a minimum of one behavior problem – a number of these problems can easily be controlled through some fundamental obedience training. Untrained dogs often turn into a pest and therefore are pushed further and additional from the family. This only compounds the current problems. Behaviors like jumping up, mouthing, and cheeky barking that you regarded as cute with your young puppy suddenly turn into a real problem because the dog grows up.

kids-dog-training

 

Whenever we bring a brand-new dog into our everyday life, we have been bringing another species right into a world that is completely foreign to them – our human world. We owe it to the dogs to assist them to squeeze into our lifestyle by clearly showing them what exactly is expected of them and what exactly is acceptable behavior – this is exactly what proper dog training provides.

So, there they may be, the five reasons I think every dog deserves a minimum of some fundamental training for everybody’s benefit.

Just for a second ignore all the benefits in the above list that obedience training provides. Could you still train your pet even when all the benefits listed failed to apply? I would personally because training your pet is among the real joys of having a dog, it is extremely fun. Time spent training your pet is time wisely spent – for many involved.

HKZOOI Dog Training Collar

 Hands down one of the best human training tools to better your dog

 

Uncovering the Ugly Truths of Your Online Business

Hard Truths About Your Online Business Presence

Your Online Business PresenceBusting the Fairy Tales, You Keep Being Told to Do

We’ve been living in a fairy tale this past week. Well, more like a nightmare with this scorching heat that has engulfed the Southeast with record-breaking temperatures!

When I was younger, I couldn’t handle the heat at all. I was prone to heat exhaustion – and that was in temperatures nowhere near the heat we just experienced!

Back then, it was standard to earn a summer income picking berries at a local farm. I wasn’t too fond of picking strawberries because we’d have to crawl on our knees all day. But raspberries were great – as long as you came prepared with long-sleeved shirts to avoid the prickly bushes.

My first-year picking wasn’t so great. It was a hot summer, and I often had to leave by noon, feeling the heat exhaustion kick in. I’d spend the afternoon laying on the couch with a cold compress on my head, feeling sick to my stomach and trying to tame my raging headache.

It only took a few days like that for me to figure out a way to stop losing half a day of picking money. And that was to get up at dawn and be at the patch long before anyone else showed up … including the hot sun!

I was quite proud of how I had a couple of flats all set to get weighed before the raspberry boss showed up. They didn’t make up for all of the time lost, but at least some of it was salvaged by not doing what everyone else was doing.

artificial-intelligenceAre there things you are doing in your business that everyone else is doing… but just aren’t working out? Every day I read on social media or watch a video of someone telling entrepreneurs what they “should” be doing to make a lot of money in their business.

I cringe every time I see these bold statements of fact. Because they rarely are true for everyone.

 

So today, I’m sharing 3 of these online business fairy tales that need to be busted wide open!

Fairy Tale #1 SINGLE-PAGE WEBSITES OR LANDING PAGES WILL GET YOU A SIX-FIGURE INCOME

The Busted Truth: • Maybe true, perhaps if you spend several thousand marketing dollars to continuously promote them. And if the ads aren’t done right or the landing page isn’t perfect, you won’t get conversions and you’ll be out of a lot of time, effort and money.

  • This model is not sustainable. It’s feast or famine and only works when your marketing engine is revved high and you have a large following who will buy anything you come up with because you’re just that good.
  • This tactic will not get you to the place of running a business. It’s simply a tactic the ‘gurus’ use to get you to believe that landing pages and single-page websites will grow your business.

Your Online Business Presence 2

 

Fairy Tale #2 YOU’LL GET TO THE TOP OF THE SEARCH ENGINES, GUARANTEED!

The Busted Truth:

• No, never believe anyone who promises you this. It’s something no one should promise because no one knows what the Google algorithms are that make a site rise to the top (except, of course, for employees themselves). The people who are making those promises are desperate for your business and will tell you anything to get a sale. Would you do business with anyone who does not include their business domain name or phone number in their correspondence?

  • They think you have ‘sucker’ written across your forehead and you are easy prey for their false promises.
  • If they were so good at SEO, then they would have droves of qualified traffic going to their website. They’d be so busy they would never need to cold call or cold email you with those fake promises, to begin with!
  • SEO is complex and it’s hard to find people who know what they are doing.
  • The best thing to do is to vet the people you’re considering hiring. Ask for referrals and speak with their happy clients to get a good sense of the integrity of that person or agency.

Your Online Business Presence 4

 

Fairy Tale #3 SAVE YOUR MONEY ON AN EXPENSIVE WEBSITE – ANYONE CAN BUILD A SITE NOWADAYS!

The Busted Truth:

• Sorry but… knowing how to use a calculator doesn’t make you a mathematician. Meaning, just because someone (or you) knows how to install a WordPress theme, doesn’t make them a qualified website developer.

 

There’s so much more to creating a website that will get you the sales and conversions you want and need than just installing a WordPress theme, changing out the colors and photos, and calling it a day.

  • Namely, your website must address these critical components: brand design, user experience, layout elements, copywriting, and brand messaging and SEO. Each of these areas requires an expert who understands them to deliver you a website that gets you the results you want.
  • And if you think setting up a 3rd party (cheap) website will do the trick, it won’t. They are horrible with SEO, and more importantly, you don’t own your website with them! You will end up paying more in the long run than if you had built a proper website, to begin with.

The Moral of this fairy tale story is; Hire a full-service agency that has all of those experts working for you as a team, and you will get way further ahead than if you try to go the cheap route.

Branding – to ensure the right impression is given to the ideal target audience, right away. Messaging – to ensure the right headlines and text are written in a way that will assure the visitor they are in the right place, and also get them excited they found the perfect solution to their challenge.

SEO – to ensure those looking for solutions to their challenges on Google and other search engines will find your website listing in their search results.

Performance – to ensure while the visitor is on the website, they don’t get frustrated by a slow rendering site, it fails miserably on their phone, or there are broken links that take them nowhere. Credibility on your website matters. These subtle nuances are often completely missed by the non-professional web developer who wants to build their website themselves or hire someone with little experience, all to save some money.

webmaster-webpage-designThe opposite happens, the website ends up giving the wrong impression to those visiting it, so they end up leaving right away.

Or the website doesn’t convey the right message to reflect how much your business can help those visitors.

Or the website is never found in the first place because it landed on page 20 in the search results.

Or the site was awkward, clunky, and frustrating to use, so the users give up and move on to a competitor’s website.

So, if you built your website yourself, or had a non-professional build it for you, it would be wise to take a step back and look at it through the lens of your prospective client.

Your Online Business Presence 6Four Clarifying Website Questions that will Save you Time, Energy, and Money

Is it as amazing as you think? Get opinions from others?

Is it truly conveying the right message to the right people?

Is it SEO optimized so your target audience will find it?

Is it frustrating for new users who aren’t as familiar with it as you are?


webpage-developmentP.S. If you liked what you read (and heard) here, you will want to sign up for our newsletter where you’ll get notified every week of our blog posts, announcements, and business-building strategies. Click here to also receive our free website guide

 

The Path to a Stronger Heart

Healthy Heart Secrets 

Healthy-Heart

Healthy Heart, from the time when the fruits of fermentation were discovered, wine has been a welcome health guest. Not only at dinner tables but also at weddings, religious rituals, and even in doctors’ offices.

Not so long ago, however, scientists began to investigate the actual health benefits of drinking wine. And the findings they’ve uncorked are enough to make any wine lover raise his glass and say “Salut!”

When sipped in moderation, particularly red wine, can help lower cholesterol and prevent hardening of the arteries and heart disease. Also, studies discovered that it can kill the bacteria that cause food poisoning and travelers’ diarrhea.

Pegusas Marketplace and Physicians don’t recommend that people start guzzling wine rather than sipping it or that people who don’t drink should suddenly start. Rather, what the evidence suggests is that moderate drinking can be a helpful addition to a healthy diet.

For many years, scientists were amazed that their French allies indulged themselves in cigarettes, buttery croissants, and fatty pates – and were still 2 1/2 times less likely to develop heart disease than their supposedly healthier American counterparts.

 

Berberine Plus 1200mgResearchers are still investigating the so-called French paradox, but it appears likely that the French have healthier hearts, at least partly because they prefer red wine. These wines are rich in compounds that help lower cholesterol and prevent harmful low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol from sticking to the lining of artery walls – the process that leads to heart disease. Red wines also help blood platelets from sticking together and forming dangerous clots.

 

 

 

 

 

Healthy Heart-3Heart Protection keeps your pump primed in complex ways. There are several chemical compounds at work, and some of them have more than one benefit. As a start, the alcohol in red wine may be beneficial. People who drink small amounts of alcohol seem to have increased protection from heart disease, studies prove. Supplements help too!
According to research, the reason is that ethanol, or alcohol, in spirited drinks raises levels of good cholesterol, heart-protecting high-density lipoprotein (HDL). Beer and other alcoholic drinks have some benefits, but wine is the only one with health-promoting polyphenols.

The reason for its superior protection is that wine contains powerful flavonoids, like quercetin. Along with other potentially protective compounds, like resveratrol, it helps prevent the body’s dangerous (LDL) cholesterol from oxidizing. This, in turn, makes bad LDL cholesterol less likely to stick to artery walls.

Laboratory studies have shown that resveratrol slows down aging in mice, protects against weight gain, and boosts endurance by improving the functioning of mitochondria – which are tiny power plants inside every cell of your body.

“Flavonoids in red wine are more powerful than vitamin E, which everyone knows is an important antioxidant,” says John D Folts, Ph.D., professor of medicine and director of the coronary thrombosis Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin Medical School in Madison.

Keeping LDL cholesterol under control is a good start against heart disease, besides helping to prevent platelets in the blood from sticking together. A study led by professor Folts and his colleagues found that when reed wine was given to laboratory animals, it eliminated potentially dangerous clots, which can cause heart attacks and strokes. “Red wine performs double duty, giving you two important benefits at the same time,” says Dr. Folts.

red wineIt’s in the color When we talk about the healing power of wine for a healthy heart, we are referring to red wine. A laboratory study at the University of California, Davis, revealed that red wines could prevent from 46% to 100% of (LDL) cholesterol from oxidizing, while white wines were less protective. In addition, laboratory studies found that white wine misses the blood clot-blocking ability. 

The reason why red wine is so much superior to white has to do with winemaking. When vintners make wine, they throw everything in the vat – not just grapes but also the skins, seeds, and stems. They’re all mashed up to create a chunky mixture called must, and this contains healthy flavonoids.  

“The longer the must ferment in the alcohol, the more of these compounds release into the wine, according to Dr. Folts. With white wine, the must is taken out early so that the wine never darkens. With red wine, the must is kept for a long time, and the wine picks up a lot of flavonoids.”

UC Davis researchers have found that some red wines are also rich in saponins, which lower heart disease risk by binding to cholesterol and preventing their absorption. Saponins may also cool body-wide inflammation, which could also lower the risk of heart disease and cancer.

blood clot-blocking ability

Red wines contain 3 to 10 times more saponins than whites. The richest source is red Zinfandel, followed by Syrah, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon. The two white varieties, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay contain less. The saponin may come from the waxy grape skins and seems to dissolve into the wine during fermentation. Wines with the highest alcohol content also have the most saponin. Wine may also maintain a healthy weight.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic followed drinking behavior and weight in 8,200 men ad women. They found that those who enjoyed one or two alcoholic beverages a day were 54% less likely to be obese than nondrinkers. Nondrinkers and ex-drinkers had twice as much chance of becoming obese. People who have a glass of wine or beer every day usually have it with their evening meal, and it could be that a drink replaces a later, high-calorie evening snack.

However, four or more glasses per day don’t make you super slim but give you a 50% more chance of becoming obese.

red-wine-6

“Wine protects against infection,” said Scientists from Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu tested red wine, white wine, and bismuth and found that they subsalicylate against some of the meanest intestinal germs, including shigella, salmonella, and Escherichia coli, and that both red and white wines were more effective than drugs for wiping out harmful bacteria.

Headaches for some people with a tendency toward migraine headaches, even a small glass of wine can cause a lot of headaches. Red wine contains substances called amines, which cause blood vessels in the brain to constrict and then expand. For sensitive people, this can result in eye-popping headaches.

Although white wine contains fewer headache-producing amines than the red varieties, it doesn’t contain as many healing compounds. So, if headaches are a problem for you, you may want to ask your doctor if a nonalcoholic wine will allow you to enjoy the great taste without the pain. Resveratrol 500 mg is an age-defying formula to support your body’s youthful essence. 

Know your limit The most important tip for getting the maximum healthy heart benefits from your wine cellar is knowing when to put your glass down. The daily limit is one 5-ounce glass a day for women and two 5-ounce glasses for men. Experts agree, however, that if you are tempted to overindulge, or if you have a personal or family history of alcoholism, you’re better off skipping alcohol entirely.

Petite SyrahGo for the Gusto when you are scanning the shelves for the wine with the highest levels of heart-healthy compounds, go for the full-bodied, robust varieties. There is a close relationship between the level of tannin, the substance that makes wine dry, and the level of healing compounds in red wines.

Three of the most heart-healthy wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Syrah, and Merlot. 

 

 

To your health!

Heart-Healthy

 

Increase Engagement with Your Blog

Make Your Blog More EngagingMake Your Blog More Engaging

Simple Blogging Tips to Get You More Raving Fans

Knowing how to make your blog engaging is one of the most important elements of any smart digital marketing strategy.

I encourage all small business entrepreneurs to start blogging because a blog can dramatically increase brand awareness and drive quality traffic to your website. In today’s digital landscape, using blogs to convert just makes sense.

But of course, this only works if you understand how to write an engaging blog, and what makes a good blog post. Even if you think of yourself as a writer, blogging is a very different animal, and it requires some special know-how.

So, let’s explore 9 key elements of a good blog post.

  • Update your blog frequently or don’t bother at all
  • I know it sounds harsh, but you must (must!) update your blog frequently.
  • There are two reasons to add new posts to your blog on a frequent and consistent basis. The first one is that if someone visits your blog and sees that the last article posted was 6 or more months ago, then their immediate impression will be that you are no longer in business.
  • Yes, it will be that drastic! They won’t assume that you’re too busy to tend to your blog. What they WILL assume is that you’ve abandoned your website, and therefore business as well.
  • Moreover, as we explored in our recent article on personal branding for businesswomen, people judge a book by its cover (or, in this case, by its neglected blog page).
  • Whether intuitively or directly, most people believe that how you do one thing is how you do everything. If your blog is haphazard, poorly written, or nonexistent, that will reflect on your business whether you want it to or not.
  • The other reason to update your blog frequently is for SEO (Search Engine Optimization). The more you write and post successful blog articles, the more Google and other search engines will see that you are actively updating your website. And they tend to reward fresh content and websites that stay updated.
  • So how often should you post? Let me put it this way: once a month is better than every 6 months, once a week is better than once a month, and every day is better than once a week. You get the idea.

Provide substance over quantityMake Your Blog More Engaging 2

OK, maybe you think I’m contracting Tip #1 here. Yes, you should post as much as you possibly can. But you should only post quality content as much as you possibly can.

The key word here is quality. You want your blog posts to be engaging. This isn’t your space to wax poetic or list what you had for dinner last night. This is your space to showcase your business to potential customers.

To write a blog post that converts, you must write about topics your target market wants to learn about. This is why doing your research on your ideal client is critical.

You want to write about things that potential and existing customers will find interesting, valuable, informative, entertaining, or captivating. Write for them, not just for the sake of having something posted.

So be sure to write about topics that your target market will find of interest and value. And always have a purpose in mind: what do you want your readers to get out of this article and what do you want them to do/know after reading?

Learn more about how to create blog content to attract your ideal target customer on our website.

blogging-wp-pegusasGive them a reason to keep coming back

One of your objectives when writing blog is to create a community – a place for people to keep coming back to get more of what you’re offering.

This means your blog posts must be entertaining, informative, compelling, and/or emotionally charged to keep people engaged and wanting to come back for more.

You know you have accomplished this when you get lots of subscribers and lots of comments on each post where your followers are eager to add their two cents worth.

Be specific to one thought, idea, or topic on your blog posts

I get it. You’re passionate about your business. You sit down and you want to just share every thought that comes to your head.

It’s great that you’re so passionate. And it’s great that you have so many ideas. But you don’t have to squeeze them all into one post. It’s much better to stick to one topic for each blog post.

This might turn out to be harder than you’d think. If you’re anything like me, that one specific topic will compel you to explain in more detail an idea you’ve shared and the next thing you know, you’re going down a rabbit hole.

But remember Tip #1 – you want to update your blog regularly. So, save all those ideas and rabbit holes for new posts!

Include at least one large image to create an engaging blog post

Images are a must for blogger. Not only do images help your readers get a visual idea of what the article is about, but they also help break up the text, emphasize important points, and create more interest than just a long article full of text.

Using images in website design is one of the simplest things you can do to make your website more popular – both with users and with search engines.

There are many reasons to use images on your website. Images and graphics can:

  • Improve your SEO
  • Help brand your company
  • Create more user engagement
  • Ultimately, a more attractive website just performs better

Of course, images will only work if you use them properly, and we’ll cover best practices below – see best practices for using images on your website here.

And learn how (and where) to choose the right images for your website on our website.

Don’t use 3rd party blogging services

Be sure to host your blog on your domain (where your website is hosted). Do not use 3rd party services like Tumblr or WordPress for your business blog.

Unfortunately, because these services are free and usually easy to set up, they make it very tempting to go that route instead of hiring a web developer to install WordPress and theme it to match the look and feel of the rest of your website.

But using these services negates the whole SEO reason why you want to be blogging in the first place.

Essentially what you are doing is sending people to THEIR services instead of to YOUR website – and that, at the end of the day, is the whole point of blogging! If you are just sending them to a 3rd part blog, you’ve missed that boat entirely.

Fix the spelling and grammar mistakes

Honestly, this shouldn’t have to be said. But – oh my goodness – does it ever need to be said!

I remember once reading someone’s blog post and it was so hard to read due to grammar mistakes that I gave up. The irony is, she was a copywriter! Can you guess what impression her readers have on her ability to write well? Not so great.

Understandably, not everyone has a Master’s degree in English. I don’t either. And more than likely, if you look hard enough, you’ll find mistakes in my writing. But that’s not the point here, nor the expectation. The goal is to write something very readable and not full of obvious mistakes.

If you’re one of those people who has great ideas and lots of information to share but are terrible in the English department, this is the time to hire someone to help you how to write a blog. We do this a lot for our clients – they will send us their rough draft, and we’ll edit it, make it look pretty, add it to their blog, and SEO optimize the post. Easy for the non-writer.

It’s a simple equation: the more time people spend on your website, the more likely they are to convert into a lead or sale.

  • So, do your website visitors like what they see when they land on your site, or are they leaving after a few seconds?
  • Are they choosing to buy something from you, or abandoning their cart before making a purchase?
  • It can be a big challenge to figure out ways to increase online conversions and time spent on your site.
  • That’s why I’m sharing seven eCommerce and business website marketing strategies to help you keep people on your website longer.

Make Your Blog More Engaging 3Make your blog article easy to scan

When you take the time to write out a great article for your blog, you want to make sure that the people coming to visit stick around long enough to read the whole thing, right?

Aside from having a compelling title and a well-written article, one way to improve your blog readers’ retention is by making your blog posts easy to scan and read.

Since a mere 16% of people read online text word for word, it’s critical to ensure your main message comes across when someone simply scans and reads your article.

To do this, it’s best to break the text up with headlines, sub-headlines, bolding, images, and bullet points. But don’t overdo it on the bullet points!

Now, I’ve witnessed many people who hear that one should use bullets in their articles or email promos and write the entire thing in bullets! We’re after balance here folks – don’t stress your reader by overdoing it in any of these tactics and you’ll do great.

(And notice how many bullets I’ve used in this article?)

Make Your Blog More Engaging2Create long-form content

How do you truly captivate your audience? Usually, it’s in one of two ways: by connecting with a personal story, or by impressing with your expertise.

In both of these cases, a few hundred words likely won’t cut it.

In today’s world of online marketing, content should be lengthy (but not wordy), visually compelling, and, preferably, interactive.

And a word to the wise: when it comes to SEO, the longer the better (assuming, of course, that ‘the length is also well-written and interesting).

I know.

It’s a big puzzle to put together.

You have to post frequently, and you also have to post long articles, but those articles also have to be nicely formatted, well-written, and targeted at your desired audience. 

 

Harness the Power of Video in Email Marketing

Use Video in Email Marketing

Use Video in Email MarketingIt’s not news that video is at the forefront of marketing these days.

From creating videos for your website to hosting Facebook Live sessions, this marketing tool has transformed from a nice-to-have to a must-have if you want to effectively engage with your audience and build a loyal following who will be more likely to purchase from you.

 

Video-based marketing is a great way to stand out from the multiple messages people get in their inboxes every day, not to mention how effective it is on social media.

This article focuses on how to use video in email marketing. Keep reading for some technical tips on using video in your emails, and advice on the creative aspects for some inspiration.

How To Use Video in Email Marketing

I’ve talked about using video many times in the past, but in case you’re still not convinced or haven’t thought to use video in your email marketing efforts, it’s time to pay close attention.

According to a study from B2B Decision Labs, when people are going through their emails, they tend to be in a negative emotional state, but when study participants watched a video email, it decreased their negative feelings and transitioned them to more of a neutral emotional state. So, when people are going through their inboxes, and they come across a video email, they’re going to feel better than they did reading through all those text emails, and they’ll be more likely to interact with it.

Indeed, a survey from Vidyard showed just that. More than 70 percent of respondents said video emails receive more opens, clicks, and responses than text-based emails.

The Benefits of Video Marketing. It saves time. You can create short, engaging pieces of video much more quickly than it will take you to write an 800-word blog. It also gives info to your viewer in an easy-to-understand way. It can help with SEO. Your Google search ranking can improve if your footage is viewed and shared by enough people. It’s cost-effective. You don’t need CGI effects or animation to make something great. A video can be much more affordable to produce than a blog or ad. It grabs attention. Especially when added to your newsletter, a video captures your audience’s attention and compels them to want to watch.


technical-Use Video in Email MarketingThe Technical Part of Video Email Marketing

When it comes to using video in your email marketing, there are several technical aspects to consider.

You have to make sure your videos are mobile-friendly and confirm that they’re compatible with as many email services as possible, and if you do run into issues, you have to come up with a workaround.

That being said, before we get into the fun stuff, let’s go over some of the more technical details of using video in your emails.

Ensure Your Videos Will Play

Before you start brainstorming ways to use video in your emails, you need to know how they’ll play in different email clients, or whether they’ll play at all.

There are over 30 major email clients, including Gmail, Microsoft Outlook, Apple Mail, and Yahoo Mail, and some of them don’t support the requirements for using email with video.

Traditionally, marketers would use HTML5 (Hypertext Markup Language) to code HTML video directly into an email, but recipients with certain email clients aren’t able to play it. Many popular email providers will only show a fallback image, and your marketing message will be lost in the crowd.

Fortunately, some of the popular services make it easy to share across all providers by using a screen capture image of your video and linking it to the original content on your blog, YouTube, Vimeo, or similar sites.

This gives the appearance of there being an actual video in your email and avoids technical issues with your email provider. Instead of having to learn HTML5, there are also third-party services that can create a video snippet for you to include right in the body of your newsletter.

Check out Playable to embed a short video in your next newsletter. Playable will replace the video with an image of your choice if the email service provider doesn’t support the video technology.

No matter what tool you use, it’s crucial to test your campaign before you send it out. You’ll need to have accounts on all of the popular email platforms so you can see how your footage works on each of them.

Use Video in Email Marketing9Sound like a lot of work? Maybe you’d prefer to leave the heavy lifting to a professional marketing company that’s been helping clients create successful email campaigns since 2003.

Make Sure You’re Mobile According to data from Constant Contact, approximately 60 percent of the emails sent from their service are opened on mobile devices. This shows just how important it is to ensure you’re keeping mobile devices in mind when using videos in your email marketing.

Fortunately, email marketing services like Mailchimp and Constant Contact let you test and see how your messaging will look before you send it out.

Still, it’s important to keep the file size as low as possible so the video doesn’t need to buffer to start playing. Mobile devices don’t have the fastest download speed.

A good tip is to take a 10-second snippet of your video to use in the newsletter. That snippet can then link to the full feature on your blog.

Also, always make sure the auto-play is off, especially on mobile. Most people don’t appreciate having something start playing (often noisily) as they sit in the office or on a bus; they prefer to click the play button themselves.

Use Video in Email Marketing2The Creative Aspects of Video Email Marketing Now that we’ve got the technical stuff out of the way, let’s look at how you can create content that will engage your viewers and increase the traffic on your website.

You need a plan with clear objectives or else you’re just sending content out into the world and hoping it will be seen and loved. Why are you creating this campaign? Are you trying to generate leads? Looking to boost brand awareness? Aiming to increase your followers? Once you’ve identified your objectives and goals, then you can start thinking about the actual emails, and the content you want to produce.

As mentioned, the best way to do this is to host the full-length video in a blog post, landing page, or on a video-sharing site like YouTube, and then incorporate a small snippet of that video in your email marketing campaign, which links to the full-length version.

Tips For Using Video in Email Campaigns

  1. Use the word “video” in your subject line Using the word “video” in your subject lines can encourage people to open your emails. In a study from Super Office, simply adding the word “video” to the subject line increased their open rates by six percent. That might not sound like a lot, but considering how many marketing emails end up in the trash bin, it’s a pretty big deal.
  2. Choose the right format There are some very simple and affordable ways to incorporate video into your marketing emails. For instance, in the survey from Vidyard I referenced above, sales professionals were asked about three video email formats and which ones receive the highest response rate. These formats included screen shares, selfie-style videos, and hybrids of the two.

Use Video in Email Marketing7More than half of respondents said the hybrid-style videos got the highest response rates, 31 percent said the selfie-style videos performed best, and only 15 percent said screen shares got the most responses. This should give you some things to consider when choosing a format, and it’s also good to know that all these videos are easy and inexpensive to produce.

  1. Showcase your products Whether you’re looking for something economical or extravagant, video email campaigns are an incredibly effective way to show off your products. If you can only afford to do a screen share or selfie-style video, you can still do a great job of highlighting what you have to offer. But if you have the budget for something more elaborate, it can be that much more effective.
  2. Emphasize your values Aside from showing off your products, another way to use video in your email marketing is to emphasize what you stand for, and what you support. Mailchimp did a great job of this by partnering with Reese Witherspoon’s media company, Hello Sunshine, to create a series of videos celebrating female entrepreneurs.

The videos have nothing to do with the service Mailchimp offers, but they help to generate interest in the brand by underscoring its values.

  1. Make tutorials Your product or service solves a problem, so how can you show this to your clients? There are many ways to accomplish this. You can make a traditional tutorial or how-to video where you simply explain how to use your product or service, or you can take more of a lifestyle branding angle where you give consumers a short explanation of how you can improve their lives.

mobile-phone-Use Video in Email MarketingAlso known as an explainer video, this format is loved by both marketers and consumers alike. A survey from Wyzowl found this format is the one most commonly used by marketers today, and 96 percent of respondents said they’ve watched an explainer video to learn about a service or product.

So, whether you’re a life coach shooting some footage while you’re on vacation, or a wellness provider offering viewers a glimpse of your dinner prep process, get creative and get shooting!

 

Email marketing with video can substantially increase your open rates, engagement, leads, and sales.

However, not every email should contain one. If you start using this tactic every time you send out a newsletter, subscribers might stop paying attention. Using video in newsletter campaigns is a great way to stand out from the crowd, but don’t bombard people with videos and neglect your other tactics in the process.

 

Get Creative in the Kitchen: Delicious Ways to Make…

Make Your Meals More Exciting

Here are 7 tips to help add some variety to your mealtimes.

Mix It Up The best way to keep your meals exciting is to use a variety of foods in your meals and introduce new ingredients whenever possible. This keeps your family from getting tired of the same food week after week. It’s also a healthier way to eat. Including a wide variety of foods in your diet is the best way to ensure that you get all the nutrients your body needs. Spend some time browsing the aisles at your supermarket and looking for new ingredients to try, or find ideas in downloadable cookbooks online or just purchase meals ready to eat!

Food-SpicesTry New Spices There’s no simpler way to give a dish a makeover than by adding a little spice to it. Add cayenne pepper or chili powder for a little heat, or spice up your meat with herbs like rosemary, basil, and mint. The possibilities are endless, and it can completely transform your old, boring dish into something completely new! To infuse the flavor of the spices into your food, marinate your meat or veggies for 12-24 hours beforehand in the refrigerator.

Variety of Colors One way to make your meals more interesting is by using foods of different colors at each meal. It will look more attractive on the plate, and your family will be more likely to clean their plates. If you serve multiple veggies or a salad, make sure to include some color variety there as well. A plate full of greens is not going to be appealing to most children.

textures-for-foodAdd Texture Just like you want to include foods of different colors in each meal, you should also try to include foods of different textures. If the main dish is a soup or stew, make sure to include something crunchy like fresh carrot sticks, crackers, or a garnish of nuts. Vary your texture from day to day as well – try not to serve soup for 2 or 3 days in a row, for example.

Grill It! A grill is a great way for infusing extra flavor into your foods, and it can help to add some variety during the summer months. The good news is you can cook just about anything on the grill, from veggies to main dishes to desserts. You can also use an indoor electric grill during colder weather–it won’t be quite the same as the “real thing,” but you can enjoy the smoky flavor of the grill all year long.

Kids-CookingLet Your Kids Help If you have kids who are picky eaters, one of the best ways to get them excited about their food is to let them help prepare it. Let them choose their favorite recipes (within reason!) and take part in the cooking process as much as they are able. Look for kid-friendly recipes in downloadable cookbooks online to get started. This is a great way to bond with your children and encourage them to eat new foods at the same time.

 

 

 

 

 


Characteristics of the Flavored Woods

Wood plays a very vital role in making your smoking food scrumptious. With electric or charcoal barbecue smokers, smoking food has become an easy task to do. Consider using these types of wood to enhance the flavor of your meats. Apple, Cherry, Hickory, Mesquite, Oak, Pecan, Maple, and Alder are the flavors that enhance your food.

Apple-WoodApplewood

Is a slightly sweet and denser fruity smoke flavor that is best used with beef, poultry, game birds, and ham.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cherry-woodCherry wood

This is a sweet fruity-smoke flavor that is good to go with all meats.

 

 

 

 

hickory-woodHickory

Is a pungent, smoky, bacon-like flavor and is the most common wood, best used with pork, and ribs.

 

 

 

 

mesquite-woodMesquite wood

Is a strong earthy flavor, best to go with most meats especially beef and most vegetables.

 

 

 

OakOakwood

Oh, this heavy smoke flavor is best used with red meat, pork, fish, and heavy game.

 

 

 

Pecan-WoodPecan Wood

This is similar to the hickory flavor, best used with pork, and fish meat.

 

 

 

 

Maple-WoodMaple wood

Is a mildly smoky somewhat sweet flavor and is best used with meat, cheese, and vegetable.

 

 

 

Alderwood-TreeAlderwood

A very delicate hint of sweetness that is best used with fish, pork, poultry, and light-meat game birds.

 

 

 

 

Black-WalnutBlack Walnut 

This heavy smoke flavor is usually mixed with lighter woods like pecan and apple flavor, best to use with red meat and game. This process doesn’t cook your food but gives it food smoky flavor.

 

 

 

 


Here’s how to solve the eggshell sticker…

Make Your Meals More Exciting

 

Oh yea, here is something that has perplexed me for a while. It’s one of the annoying things about eating eggs that are cooked by boiling is attempting to unpeel them. I have never fully understood exactly why some eggs you’ll be able to peel so effortlessly yet others you wind up sacrificing half an egg from the peeling method. Therefore, here are several tips that might help ease some of that aggravation.

  1. Use older eggs. Eggs that are a couple of weeks older or longer typically will peel a little easier in contrast to if they’re fresh.
  2. Put the egg in the water at the boiling point. That egg white is going to bond more firmly to the membrane layer inside the eggshell if the eggs are cooked less quickly. Introducing a cold egg into the boiling water stops this from occurring.
  3. Following that first temperature shock, shut the heat down. This will enable the eggs to cook at a reduced rate, which will allow the yolks to cook before the egg whites turn out to be overcooked, and thus rubbery.
  4. Before peeling refrigerate to chill your eggs. When the egg is colder its structure will be firmer, and as the egg shell is removed craters probably will not be made in the egg whites. Holding it in the fridge overnight before peeling ought to also help.
  5. Crack your eggshell throughout and peel under running water. Slowly breaking up a shell into smaller portions prevents more eggs to attach themselves to the white exterior. The cold running water helps to keep the surface of the egg firm. Having an egg organizer helps keep your eggs sorted by dates.
  6. Eggs are good cholesterol and help with testosterone, all with the beautiful protein. I eat four eggs everyday and feel good.

These would be only some techniques to help to keep your boiled egg unaltered when peeling. I have found they will work in basically all cases, nevertheless for some reason often there are eggs which will always be difficult. This however should not stop us from making eggs a staple in our diet.

 

 

Property Investment Strategies for Beginners

Property InvestmentProperty Investment

Have you considered real estate investing? If so, now is the right time. More and more people are leaping and investing in the rental market today as a way to supplement their income, or as a business venture in its own right. There are several things to consider, as with any large investment, but it can be a really good way to make significant returns.

Property Investment locations are one of many things to consider when renting out a single home, or when undertaking large-scale property management. My city Atlanta, for example, offers a lot to potential investors because of its continued popularity with renters. Although, even if you have already picked out the perfect location, it’s important to know the pros and the cons before deciding if it’s the right move for you.

When deciding where to invest in a property many variables need careful consideration. Atlanta, Georgia is an up-and-coming investment hub, and given that property management in Metro Atlanta is well supported with excellent services, it is a location worth investigating.

The job market is healthy and growing even in this economic time. Between March 2021 and the same month, a year later, the city added 22,900 private sector jobs, demonstrating a growth rate of 5.3%. Metro Atlanta Regional Economic Development places it as the top metro area for economic growth and strategic investment in tech innovation.

It is also worth noting that this city has a bustling international airport, 19 colleges, and universities. It has also been rated as one of the top 100 places in the USA for business and careers.

Property Investment 3Pros of Investing


Tax Benefits

You may well be able to reduce your tax burden as a result of deductions you can make from your real estate investment. Fees that you pay towards property management, maintenance, and insurance can often be deducted leaving you with a smaller tax bill.

Appreciation

With a little luck, it’s not uncommon to find that your home will appreciate significantly over time. This can be even more effective at generating profit if you’re able to carry out repairs and maintenance that bring the property to a higher standard. To find out about great areas that are undervalued you can turn to a company that does property Investment. Atlanta, Georgia is just one example of an area that insider knowledge can help with when it comes to appreciation.

Regular Income

Maybe it goes without saying, but the single biggest pro of investing in the rental market is the fact you’ll have regular, recurring income. Not only that, but rental market fluctuations mean that sometimes your rental value will increase year on year without any material changes being made to the building.

Cons of Investing

Lots of Cash Upfront

To get the most out of the market, you’ll likely need more cash upfront than you would for other types of investments. A quarter of the value of the property is a good amount to aim for when it comes to an investor’s down payment.

Time Intensive

Your time is every bit as valuable as the property you’ll be purchasing, so it’s good to be aware that investing in the rental market can be very time intensive. A handy way around this is to engage a property management company to handle the laborious aspects of the process.

Unpredictable Tenants

Ultimately, your tenants are the source of your income, so you wouldn’t want to lease your building to anybody who won’t take care of it, or who would delay or miss rental payments. There are checks that you can do to help with this aspect but, again, it’s good to have some professionals there to take care of tenant relationships where possible.

Property Investment2Professional Property Management

There are a lot of things to think about when deciding to invest in the rental market, and although there is every chance you’ll make a good return on your investment, having people to help you is always a good thing. For that reason, it’s important to engage a company that can help you with every aspect of property management. Big and small cities will always have eager renters, but having expert property managers can ensure that you experience as few hiccups as possible.

What Do They Do?

The management company is not just there to collect rental payments; they can also provide an excellent bespoke service to take care of things like:

  • Sourcing tenants for your property
  • Organizing maintenance and repairs
  • Managing bills and payments
  • Inspecting the property
  • Making sure the building is compliant with legal requirements

This is a simple but effective rule: always do your research before reaching out. Even if you’re short on time, a quick 30-minute internet scroll can reveal a wealth of information about a service provider. Be sure to check out customer reviews for honest opinions that can help point you in the right direction. It’s also worth checking out the larger directories for a more comprehensive list of companies in your area. From here you can begin to compare a few companies that you like the look of.

Don’t take anything for granted, that every company will have all the necessary credentials (you’ll be surprised how silver-tongued some firms can be!) Make sure that your agent is fully licensed; this is a promise of protection and will ensure that everything is managed professionally and appropriately within the legal requirements.

Why It’s So Important

Your time is important, and so is your property. That’s why engaging a management company ensures that you get the most out of your investment without having to operate as an on-the-ground landlord, which can be time-consuming and fraught with difficulty. Whether you need new tenants ASAP, or your current lease needs updating, you’ll be glad you hired a company to handle rental management. Here in Atlanta, GA it’s a competitive and exciting rental market right now, so if you’re thinking of investing, then the organizational know-how of trained professionals can give you the edge.

The cost of living here in Atlanta is higher than the average but there are more options for outdoor activities compared to neighboring cities. The average commute time here is 21-60 minutes, compared with hours in other places, and the climate is desirable – which is a plus when you have more time on your hands.

Summary of cost of living in Atlanta, GA, USA:

Family of four estimated monthly costs is $3,701.49 without rent.

A single person’s estimated monthly costs are $1,045.74 without rent.

Atlanta is 27.36% less expensive than New York

Rent in Atlanta is, on average, 52.35% lower than in New York.

 

 

 

 

Live Your Best Life

Change Your LifeChange Your Life

Two years ago, when I was on vacation in Morocco, I was sitting in a local coffee shop by the beachfront Marina with my family, I started to think about what was the BIG change that made me successful in my own online business.

After some thought, I came up with 4 principles that I thought were the main kickstarter for me…

Maybe only those with a certain mindset will be able to truly see it. Change your life and feel completely better!  This is just one of several ways lucky people create their fortunes.

To put these simple principles into action, here are four tips, (if you like) for creating more luck Expect Good Things to Happen. This is so powerful and rewires your brain. It programs you to find good things. In many cases, those good things were already there, just waiting to be discovered. But mental programming is strong. It makes us overlook “treasures” that are right in front of our noses.

The brain has to process a ton of input every day — and not everything we see makes its way to our conscious mind.

Fortunately, by focusing your conscious attention on the good rather than the bad, you can “train” your mind to find things that contribute positively to your life.

This becomes a great habit to have in your locker. How to change your life completely;  Because there are things you may have otherwise overlooked. Follow the steps to change.

Ok, what’s holding you up? Are you dealing with a state of unhappiness that is not usually influenced by circumstances or certain events as most people tend to believe, but it is rather influenced by your way of thinking, gaining a more positive mindset can be the solution you needed to change your life around.

Only you can change your life; certain aspects might be preventing you from truly experiencing the beauty of life and the beauty that lies within you. How to change your life for the better; there are a few amazing solutions that you can seek, to acquire the happiness and inner peace you have always desired to have, one example is slowing the aging process

Your journey toward happiness often lies in your self-esteem, and if there is anything that can affect that negatively is your lack of confidence in your physical appearance. If you have been dealing with self-esteem issues due to being overweight, then doing something about it will be necessary.

Making a change in your life to lose weight and achieving a better body image will not be possible if you do not change your perspective on the weight loss process, improve your lifestyle, and focus on the long-term results. If you need advice on how to lose weight, resorting to a specialist for counseling might be the answer you needed.

When you are talking about aging, you should not think about the physical implications that the passing of time has, but the mental ones. The moment you no longer feel young and full of life is the moment you start to age. It does not matter if you are 19 years old or 55, as long as you know how to change your mindset and know how to keep yourself motivated, feeling the way you did in your 20s will be possible.

You can become that joyful, active, adventurous, and passionate spirit you used to be by overcoming certain limits you have created for yourself.

Because in theory it might seem easy to obtain that life change you desire, but in reality, things can be quite difficult if you do not adopt the right mindset-changing methods, resorting to a specialist for advice will be more than beneficial. Just by searching on the internet, you will be able to find someone who can provide you with incredible solutions to any problems you might be dealing with, starting with apathy and tiredness and up to weight or confidence problems.

Discussing with someone who is experienced and knows the right ways of change your life someone’s negative way of thinking, will offer you guidance and as long as you believe making this change is possible, they will push you towards a more fulfilling and happy life. You can find such an expert even by searching online.

Let’s take the first step towards a positive change in your life that lies within your mindset. There are ways in which you can become more positive, in terms of how you view life, so pursuing a few effective methods or increasing positivity can truly help you turn your life around for the better.

  • Be Grateful

Change Your LifeWhen you start looking for things to be thankful for, you’re likely to find more and more reasons to feel grateful.

And really, gratitude is just another word for feeling lucky.

In my experience, gratitude leads to more energy and motivation. As such, it’s much easier to create positive life changes when you have a firm foundation of gratitude.

A daily gratitude journal (which can be as simple as writing down one thing you’re grateful for) is a great place to start.

There are a lot of people today that receive spiritual counseling. They are getting help navigating the world around them, and they are making progress slowly. There are a lot of great things that come with this. If you are struggling with your life, and aren’t sure where to turn, consider the beauty of counseling, and how it can help you change things for the better. Finding guidance is a lot easier than you may think. At first glance, this may seem a bit much, but honestly, it’s something that is going to prove amazing, if you find the right resource.

Finding A Counselor

Believe it or not, some counselors can be found through medical means. Some insurance plans even cover counseling and mental health visits. You’re going to find that these visits can help you have someone to talk to about your daily routine, life, and anything that is bothering you. While this may not be a “cure”, it can definitely shine a light on the issues that you may be facing. Sometimes, all you need is a fresh set of eyes to look at what you’re dealing with on a regular basis. You’ll find that this can help you in a lot of different ways, and finding a counselor can be made simple.

When in doubt, look online for the benefits that come with spiritual counseling. You’ll see that it’s more than just about raising your mood and evaluating your mindfulness. There’s a lot to consider here, and a lot of it can help you see life in a new manner. As long as you approach the spiritual awakening with some lifestyle change, you will no doubt benefit from what a spiritual counselor can offer. Even if you’ve never gone this route, test the waters once, and see why so many go this route overall. Finding help is not difficult, especially in these modern times.

  • Be Generous

What goes around comes around. You never know if someone you help may find their way to success, or how that favor might be unexpectedly returned to you

That doesn’t mean you should do nice things with the intent of someone owing you a favor, though. Instead, developing genuine relationships is key.

It also doesn’t mean you should overextend yourself, trying to help everyone to the point where you’re exhausted. and not making time for yourself Instead, it’s about finding balance.

That balance will look a little different for everyone, depending on your life and obligations.

But even when life is busy, you’re likely to find occasions now and again when you feel inspired and capable of giving someone else a helping hand.

  • Trying New Things

If what you’re currently doing hasn’t gotten you closer to where you want to be, then take a long look at yourself, isn’t it time to take 2023 by the horns? Change your life.

Don’t get stuck in a rut. Do something different.

I don’t know why people are constantly doing the same thing over, and over again, and expecting different results.

Several life coaches I know argue that by changing up your routine, you open yourself to new possibilities.

There are both emotional and practical factors at play here …the brain needs new challenges.

On the practical side, trying something new will introduce you to new people, places, and ideas. Any of these things could lead to an unexpected opportunity in your professional or personal life.

Change your life. On the emotional side, consider this: Often, we get stuck in our routines. Even if we think we’re open to change, it’s hard to get out of our comfort zone and change our habits. (And yes, I’ve been guilty of this myself in the past.)

Foods For Better Health

There are stories in everything: Big stories, little stories, and the most important stories are in health. Finding the right story is paramount to success in reaching your goal. Any of us never leave our comfort zone unless we’re forced to. We are known as creatures of habits and when we’re confronted with a major change in life our routine is interrupted and we’re plunged into the unknown. Gaining new experience, and new knowledge and positively changing the way of thinking is the beginning of something ‘new’. Health is no different; nothing will change unless you make it happen. Only in the last decade or so research has uncovered how we can take control of our health.

The message over recent times has been very clear: Some foods are good for us and some are not. Research and tests have found that extracts from natural and whole foods are more effective in healing and can sustain optimal health better than anything else.

Can food save our lives?

There are many testimonials and facts of people who survived aggressive cancers through changing diets and lifestyles. The name “lifestyle” can often be misleading and also be called industrialized or westernized world diet, which mainly consists of fried fatty foods, takeaway, fast foods, artificial flavors, sugar unhealthy snacks, soft drinks, and sodas loaded with artificial sugars. These are only some of the foods causing the most of bad health; at the same time, it answers that burning question: The right food can save our lives.

Being or become healthy we have to avoid processed, genetically modified enhanced junk some of which we are eating every day. As long as we keep buying it and perpetuate the conglomerates, in return they continue to give us more and all of this with no objections from our governments.

On the other hand, can we expect governments to take the initiative to warn people or even ban these substances from being used that are linked to many carcinogenic products endangering millions of people’s lives?

This is why we must gain knowledge, read and learn how to avoid the things that can hurt us and see through those commercials that try to brainwash us.

What we don’t know not only can hurt us, it can take years of our life.

Foods for better health

The power of natural foods hasn’t been realized for some decades, or maybe forgotten or just exchanged for the often better-tasting processed ones. Boosting your immune system with whole foods, vegetables and fruits is the only sustainable way to optimal health. The most powerful way to up our mineral and vitamin consumption is by making drinks fresh from plants every day, by either blending or juicing vegetables and fruits together. Green drinks make you feel energetic, improve your skin and appearance, and help to drop those kilos at the same time.

Have a salad and a few sticks of celery before your meal; these raw greens and other veggies will ensure that we are getting our enzyme intake. Enzymes help to digest food better and make us feel full faster since they contain lots of fiber. Any fermented vegetables and fruits are excellent and good for your gut health. Cultured cabbage like sauerkraut and other vegetables are easily made in your kitchen to your taste.

Or create a very powerful miracle drink: All you need is one potato, one carrot, and one apple to make the juice; you can add some lemon or lime for better taste, put them all through the juicer, and drink while it’s fresh an hour before your meal.

Benefits

 Strengthens the immune system, is good for eyesight and red eyes eliminate pain and muscle ache, assists bowel movement, eliminates constipation, good for acne and skin problems, lessens menstrual pain, and assists hay fever sufferers. According to some feedback it has prevented cancer cells to grow, prevented kidney, liver, and pancreas disease, and as well can cure ulcers. It can lower blood pressure and prevent heart attacks. For best results drink it first thing in the morning one hour before breakfast and late afternoon and make it fresh every time.

This is low in cost and little time involved in making it and will be a great benefit to your health. All vegetables and fruits have different benefits for different health issues. The most powerful ones are found in the cabbage family which includes broccoli, kale, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts. These green leafy vegetables have the highest nutritional and protein value, also the most needed omega 3, and other fatty acids which are essential for our body.

By changing our routine, we mentally open up to positive changes and look at challenges from new angles.

Changing Your LifeTo start, this change can be as big or as small as you’d like.

For example, is it time to change your job?

Or is it time to start small, by taking a new route home from work, reading in the evening instead of watching the news, or signing up for that art class, what about that home business you’ve been considering?

If you’re not sure where to begin, I’d recommend a small change to your daily schedule (like a short morning walk) or picking up a new hobby just for fun.

Change Your Life 2

Hug someone today!

 

Unlocking Your Business Potential with a Business Coach

Business Coach, a Mentor, or a Consultant
Difference Between a Business Coach, a Mentor, or a Consultant2

Whether you want to expand your small business to another country, kick-start your career as an entrepreneur or hone your marketing skills, you may be looking for some outside support.  If you look at top business achievers, you will find one common denominator: They didn’t do it all alone.

High-performing entrepreneurs and small business owners know that if they want to truly excel, they need guidance and support. But what’s best for your professional development? a coach? a mentor? a consultant? How do you even begin to choose?

Great professional development options:

Working with a mentor. You’re getting someone who’s already walked in your shoes. They are experienced in your field and can help fast-track you along your growth path. They can offer guidance, friendship, and support; there is usually a level of personal connection as they serve as a role model to help an individual reach their potential.

This can be super valuable because it saves you from having to go through a steep learning curve and make a bunch of mistakes along the way.

Difference Between a Business Coach, a Mentor, or a Consultant4Some of the advantages include:

Getting an outside perspective. Often, we are too close and emotionally tied to our business to see what’s truly happening. It can be beneficial to get a bird’s-eye view of your situation. Often, we’re too in love with our work to know about areas that need a little work. Your mentor will probe to uncover some problem issues that may not be instantly apparent to you.

Enabling you to reach higher. Sometimes we do things for other people that we wouldn’t do for ourselves. When you have the accountability of a mentor, you may push harder to reach your goals. Because you know that you have to report your results during your mentorship, can make you go the extra mile.

Gaining business experience.  Even if you have years of corporate experience, running your own business is a new challenge. You probably know a lot about your industry, but you may not know enough about running and growing a business.

When you hire someone with experience in creating systems, marketing, delegating, and growing a business, it helps you avoid costly mistakes and grow further, and faster. And they often have proven blueprints and templates to boost your results.

Being your cheerleader. You probably know that being a business owner can be a roller coaster! Some days you’re on top of the world, and other days you doubt yourself. Maybe you wonder if you should throw in the towel because everything seems to be going wrong. Mentorship can help you stay positive and motivated, so you can keep your business moving forward.

Working with a coach. A coach takes a slightly different approach. He or she serves as an expert guiding you in a very specific area of performance. If you Google “coach” you’ll see results for performance, marketing, financial support, sales, business growth, social media support, and more.

A business coach is trained to help you figure out your roadblocks, holds you accountable for your business success and shares their tried-and-true experiences and processes to help you get ahead in your business.Difference Between a Business Coach, a Mentor, or a Consultant

 

However, it’s important to note that many coaches are self-appointed experts. They may present themselves as highly successful and knowledgeable, but many could just be one step ahead of you. Read the fine print in any document.

While they may “talk the talk”, you don’t know if they have the skills or experience to help you succeed.

Leadership Coaching to uncover people’s hidden and natural talents and assess individual skills, capabilities, and/or behaviors that impact them positively and negatively. This helps her clients understand the actions they need to take to move in the right direction to get what they want.

Working with a business coach can help you in many of the same ways mentorship can, but they’re less of a “friend” and more of a “guide.”

  • Hear more objective opinions • Increase your networking opportunities.  • Lead more strategically • Develop your personality and leadership style • Better understand yourself

Read: 30 Things Business & Marketing Coaches Wish Entrepreneurs Would Stop Doing, on our website

From the economy to the weather, struggling entrepreneurs have all sorts of reasons why their product or service isn’t selling. But have you ever considered that you might be doing things all wrong and that’s why you’re not reaching the success you’d like to see?

Here are some valuable insights from 30 successful business coaches. They’ve observed what frustrates them to no end, and these are the things that could very well be thwarting your success!

Working with a consultant. A consultant is often an expert in their field and provides you with advice. While they may sound similar to a mentor or a coach, consultants don’t work with you to improve your skills or guide you in your professional development. They usually work within your defined metrics and deliverables.

A coach A mentor A consultant

When you work with a consultant, you’re getting valuable advice from someone with niche experience and industry understanding. While a business coach or a mentor will encourage you to do your best, a consultant will focus on identifying what you need to do to accomplish your goals. 

The most common consulting methods are:

  • Strategic Advice: When a business has specific problems, a consultant can create a strategy to solve them. 
  • Done-for-you Service: Some consultants have a team to support them, so this option makes sense if a small business requires a solution, they aren’t skilled in implementing. 
  • One-Time Training: Say your management team hasn’t been meeting a certain objective. A consultant could offer them training to help them get back on track.
  • Ongoing Coaching: You can’t expect amazing results by meeting with a consultant once for four hours. Many small businesses will work with a consultant over months or years on things like a marketing plan or expanding the company globally.

Difference Between a Business Coach, a Mentor, or a Consultant3Your unique needs will determine whether you need a mentor, coach, or consultant to enhance your professional development. But each one has the power to prevent you from making bad decisions that will leave you in financial distress and conducting self-sabotage to your success, whether you realize you are doing it or not!

 

The Destruction of Love: How to End a Relationship

Destroy a Relationship Destroy a Relationship

Why being mindful of clients’ perspectives can keep them supporting your business

We all have them.

Days when everything pisses us off.

I doubt there’s a human being on this planet who hasn’t been in a bad mood now and then.

And for a variety of reasons too.

But there’s one thing we business owners have an unwritten rule about (well probably it’s written somewhere by someone) is that no matter what, we don’t bring our bad mood with us when communicating with clients.

Would you agree with that fundamental principle?

But how many times have you, as a client or customer, been on the receiving end of someone’s the bad mood?

It happened to me recently and that single instance destroyed a 30-year working relationship.

I had a hair appointment with the same gal that I’ve been seeing for decades. She works out of her home and lives about 25 minutes away from me. I know exactly how long it takes for me to get to her place and am typically on time, every time.

Except for the last two appointments.

The time previous to this last visit, I had an emergency come up just before heading out the door. It was something I had to take care of or faced dire consequences (as in having a very angry client on my hands!)

It meant I was going to be about 5 minutes late for my appointment. I texted her when I was leaving stating I was hurrying over and will be a few minutes late.

She didn’t reply and never said anything when I got there. We had our usual girl talk that I very much looked forward to.

This recent time I needed to do a quick errand before my appointment. I completely misjudged how much time it would take me to get from that other location to my stylist’s place. Plus… I got lost finding my way there since I was coming from a different direction.

I didn’t want to risk taking any time to stop and text her and honestly thought I was just a minute away… except it was more like 15 minutes before I finally got there.

I’ve never been 15 minutes late for anything and I felt terrible. I apologized profusely but unfortunately; she wouldn’t hear any of it.

Destroy a Relationship3She was pissed.

So angry in fact, she first lectured me on “always” being late, citing my text from the previous appointment, and that she was sick and tired of constantly hearing, “sorry I’m late” as if I’m the only one that says that every time I walk into her room.

Stunned at how mad she was, especially knowing it was the last appointment of the day, I apologized again and tried to explain why I was late and even offered to leave with my hair wet to make up for the lateness so we would still end in time.

I didn’t know what else to do to rectify my error. She was so angry; she gave me the silent treatment and only grunted her “hold your head here” and “move to the sink” commands throughout the entire time there.

I did leave with wet hair, 15 minutes earlier than what our appointment time would have ended had I been on time, vowing to never return.

I fully realize I was the catalyst that set off her anger, and I also realize she had to have been having one hell of a bad day before I arrived, and I got the brunt of her wrath. I get it.

But as a customer, a loyal one for 30 years at that, there’s no excuse whatsoever to be treated like that.

Never.

When I have bad days like what she must have experienced, I set aside whatever is going on and treat anyone whom I speak with that day, whether it’s one of our team members, a client, a lead or even chatting on social media, with the utmost respect and kindness.

Even if they are the reason for my having a bad day. It serves no purpose whatsoever to make the other person feel worse than what I am feeling. I found this experience to be so distressing, I posted about it on Facebook.

I received a variety of responses, ranging from my owing her an apology (which I did) to justifying why she blew up, right over to demanding I fire her on the spot (which I ended up doing).

These kinds of responses go to show how we are all human and all look at experiences from our lens and history. For me, I was taken straight back to elementary school when I was the victim of bullying quite a bit. A feeling I never want to experience again! Destroy a Relationship

Others empathized with her where time is very important to them and get angry themselves when someone disrespects it. (I’m the same way – being punctual is a huge deal for me.)

One thing I have done as a result of this experience is to find the lesson behind it all. For one, I will plan my time better and ensure I give myself enough time to do what needs to be done in time!

I also learned just how fragile our relationships can be. She lost a client of 30 years – and I lost any further opportunities to visit with someone I’ve known for a long time to get some of the much-valued girl time I look forward to with each visit.

It doesn’t take much to destroy a 30-year working relationship.

Yes, I realize I could reach out and try to mend the fences but I am choosing not to. At least not right now.

At the end of the day, this lesson goes to show how important it is for us all to keep our anger in check. To realize our anger is being received by the other person, and be aware of how they are receiving it with their response. They won’t always understand where you are coming from because they’re looking at things from a different perspective.

So, what do we do when we’re having a bad day and business must go on?

If you ever find yourself feeling angry, whether justified or not, here are eight tips on what you can do to avoid creating irreparable situations with your clients:

  1. Exercise. Go for a walk, head to the gym, and box with a punching bag. Whatever works for you to do some venting.
  2. Meditate. Or just sit quietly and practice deep breathing.  Destroy a Relationship
  3. Yoga. Nothing is better at centering our emotions and getting back in touch with our bodies than practicing yoga.
  4. Watch a funny show or listen to a positive podcast. It’s amazing how quickly your anger can turn around when you’re laughing or receiving positive energy from someone else!
  5. Use anger as motivation. If you can control the scenario that’s causing your anger, then you can do something about it!
  6. Focus on something more positive. A great thing to do here is to think of something you are grateful for and focus on why you’re so grateful for it. Putting yourself in a state of gratefulness will trigger those happy endorphins and will get you out of that crappy mood fast.
  7. Get productive. Feeling on purpose can be quite energizing. If you have something that’s calling your name, get busy and shift your attention to that.
  8. Write in a journal. A great way to release that negative vibe from your body is to write it out. Keep writing until you’ve vented everything that comes to mind. Even if it’s not the same thing that got you angry in the first place – just let it all out!

I’m curious if you have ever experienced someone either getting angry with you in a business relationship or did you lose your cool and get angry with a client or service provider? How did it turn out? What lesson did you learn? And do you have any other tips on how to let go of anger to share?

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES:

  1. READ: Learn effective communication principles from an expert. This book from communications specialist Yvonne Douma is a must-read. It will be available on June 8th but you can get yourself on her notification list and grab some great bonuses if you purchase on launch day: REFRAME: How to Change Your Conversations to Resolve Those Messy Conflicts.
  2. WATCH: Have you ever been frustrated by the lack of customer service from another company and vowed to never do business with them again? And most certainly never told anyone else about them?
  3. READ: I guess all of us have been on the receiving end of a situation where we are not satisfied with customer service. But how do you respond? Read this great piece from Kindi Gill who shares excellent insights on managing difficult client situations: Five Tips for Managing Customer Complaints.

 

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